


A Kid from Queens

by cutie1365



Category: Captain America Civil War, Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2020-03-04 22:08:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 32,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18821719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutie1365/pseuds/cutie1365
Summary: Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!ReaderCaptain America: Civil War Era. Tony Stark enlists his daughter to find the web slinging spider in Queens.





	1. The Fall

Facetime: Tony Stark

  
Your finger hovered over the ‘Accept’ button before tapping it. With everything that had been happening in the last few days, you were a little on edge.

  
“Hey dad, everything alright?” You asked, after asking FRIDAY to pause the AC/DC record you were listening to.

  
“Yeah sweet cheeks everything's fine... considering all that’s happening. But I need you to do me a favor.” He asked, he looked exhausted.

  
“Alright what’s up?” You asked, sliding into your desk chair behind your laptop.

  
“You’ve seen that spider guy on Youtube right?” He asked, causing you to furrow your eyebrows.

  
“The web slinger guy? Yeah what about him.” You shook your head. Where was this going? You thought.

  
“I need you to find him.” Tony said nonchalantly.

  
“Find him?” Your eyes grew wide, you were taken aback.

  
“Yes, track him down... we may need all the help we can get if things don’t get any better.” He said, implying more. You knew things weren’t going well with Cap but you didn’t think it was this bad.

  
“How exactly do you want me to find this... Spiderling?” You asked, hundreds of ideas circling your head... you did have a flair for the dramatics so this should be fun.

  
“Dealers choice.” He answered, and your face morphed into a mischievous smirk.

  
“Excellent. You have a deadline for me?” You asked, knowing that if necessary you could find this guy in about two hours.

  
“A week. Think you can handle that?” Tony asked you.

  
“Peace of cake.” You flashed your famous Stark Smirk.

  
“That’s my girl.” Tony returned it.

  
“What do you want me to do once I find him?” You asked, already making notes on the pad next to your laptop.

  
“Nothing, I’ll bring him in if necessary. I just need someone on deck if things go south. All I need is a name and address.” Tony answered.

  
“I can do that. Hey, any news on Cap?” You asked, curiously but also worriedly. This was your family, and you hated seeing it being torn apart.

  
“Not since Vienna. Sometimes I just wonder if I made the right decision in signing.” Tony said quietly, signing and rubbing his face.

  
“Well I’ve already told you what I think. There’s ethical dilemmas on both sides. But in signing you’re trying to do the right thing, oversight isn’t the worst idea at a time like this. With New York, DC, Sokovia, Lagos and now Vienna you’ve got a major PR fire on your hands. Put it out and deal with the consequences. Rebellion is always an option down the road if the agreement isn’t in the best interest of the people you set to protect. You need friends on the inside and right now you don’t have any. Documents can be amended, but right now this fire needs to be put out.” You told him honestly.

  
“You always know exactly what to say, don’t you? Glad to know that philosophy doctorate is being put to good use.” He smiled.

  
“Money well spent. Oh- and I suppose you’ve also considered that if you do end up bringing this Spiderling in that it might be a little embarrassing fighting side by side someone in a onesie? He’s in dire need of an upgrade, I mean have you seen the thing he’s flying around in right now?” You laughed.

  
“Since you’re so concerned about it why don’t you design it? I’ve seen some of your sketches, I know you won’t let us down.” He said, which was code for you’re right but I can’t possibly be bothered to do it right now. That also meant you’d have full control of the lab.

  
“Well I am my father’s daughter. Consider it done.” You blew him a kiss and ended the call.

  
Taking out a sketchpad and placing your feet up on your desk, you got to work.

  
“FRI? Can you map out all the spider sightings for me?” You asked. If you assembled the different locations you should get a pretty good idea of his ‘hunting ground’ so to speak. After finding the perfect location only then could you set your plan in motion.

  
“Right away Ms. Stark.” FRIDAY replied. A plan like this required darkness, and seeing as it was 11am that wasn’t something you could exactly manufacture.

  
“Can you also compile all the sighting videos for me?” You asked, and immediately they began playing on your screen.

  
You watched intently as you jotted down suit ideas. Before you had known it you’d had a complete sketch.

  
\----------------------------------------------

  
11:00pm. Perfect timing. After some quick errands and $500 later you were ready to meet the Spider.

  
You stood on the crosswalk of the Queensboro Bridge, looking down into the probably icy waters. This plan better work. You eyed the man across from you, your senses were on high alert. An 18 year old girl alone in the middle of the night might not have been the best idea, but for your mission it served you well. And you were no normal 18 year old. Two doctorates by 18, with your skills, didn’t really classify as normal.

  
A gunshot about a block over drew your attention. Before you knew it your bag was being tugged at and you were stumbling backwards.

  
“Hey! Stop!” You yelled, your efforts yielding no results.

  
This man wasn’t giving up, even as you teetered on the edge. You knew it was coming and yet you weren’t ready for it.

  
You fell back, your stomach dropped as your hand reached up towards the bridge that was getting continually farther away. You let out a scream, but your breath was cut from you as another body collided with your own.

  
Now instead of falling, you were flying. You knew you had to act fast, you slipped the small metal tracker from your sleeve and attached it to the back of his ‘suit’. Though you could hardly call it that.

  
You were set back down and ready to continue the act of damsel in distress.  
With tears in your eyes you looked up to your savior, making sure to let a few slip down your cheeks.

  
“Hey you’re alright, you’re safe now.” He tried to reassure you and calm you down.

  
“Oh my god. You’re that spider guy. You saved me.” You griped onto his arm.  
“Just doing my job.” He spoke, he sounded younger than you imagined. You began to size him up, making sure FRIDAY was analyzing his measurements so you could get to work on a suit.

  
“Thank you!” You yelled out as he shot a web and swung off. “FRI?”

  
“Tracker placement successful.” FRIDAY replied as you pulled out your phone and watched the moving red blip.

  
“Perfect. And send whatever measurements and specs you got to the lab, we’ve got a suit to build.” You smirked, hailing a cab.

  
\----------------------------------------------

  
You woke up in the lab to a monitor beeping at you.

  
“Ugh FRIDAY what the hell is that?” You groaned, looking at your watch seeing it was nearly 1 in the afternoon.

  
“Your tracker seems to be on the move. Midtown School of Science and Technology.” FRIDAY explained.

  
“Let’s pay him a visit, shall we?” You smirked, heading to the elevator to change and head out.

  
\----------------------------------------------

  
By now it was 2:45 and you were leaning against the cool brick next to the school’s exit. You tapped your bootie on the ground and brushed some fuzz off one of your dad’s old band shirts. With some leather pants, even you had to admit you looked good.  
You heard the door open beside you and you slipped your glasses on.

  
“FRI run facial recognition.” You whispered, seeing the information appear on your glasses.

  
“Name Peter Parker, age 17, address is 14-” FRIDAY began but you cut her off.

  
“Peter.” You called out and he spun around. You crossed your arms with a smirk. It took him a second to recognize you, but you could tell he did.

  
“Sorry do I know you?” He stammered as you pushed your glasses up into your hair.

  
“Y/N. Just wanted to thank you.” You smiled.

  
“Thank- Thank me? For what?” He lied.

  
“Oh come on Pete. So talk to me about this web fluid. You make it yourself? Because the tensile strength is off the charts.” You strode over to him.

  
“I don’t- I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He stuttered.

  
“Pretty interesting stuff. You’re a little younger than I expected, you must be some sort of genius.” You looked him up and down.

  
“I’m not a genius.” He stated. You slipped your glasses back on with a brow raised and read his file.

  
“Straight As, gifted program, advanced classes since kindergarten. Awards, scholarships. I know genius Pete, and you sound like one to me.” You finished, pushing your glasses back up.

  
“Who are you?” He asked, a bit of fear in his eyes.

  
“An interested party.” You smirked, lowering your hands into your pockets.

  
“Interested in a kid from Queens?” He raised an eyebrow.

  
“A kid from Queens with superhuman strength that shoots webs and looks great in red spandex. Well that last one’s just a bonus.” You smirked, biting your lip. His mouth dropped open. You spun on your heels and yelled back, “See ya around Pete.”

  
\----------------------------------------------

  
After working on the suit all night you were almost done, and pretty damn proud of it. The one thing you couldn’t figure out was how the kid climbed walls, it surely couldn’t be his shitty onesie. Instead of wasting your time you decided to pay this Peter Parker another visit.

  
Pulling up the tracker on your phone you found him at Delmar’s in Queens. That wasn’t too far from the tower, so you decided to borrow one of your dad's cars.

  
“Hey Parker, fancy seeing you around here.” You said, approaching the bodega after parking the car.

  
“Are you following me or something?” He asked, rolling his eyes.

  
“Or something.” You smirked.

  
“So you jumped off a bridge just so you could find me and put a tracker on me? You must be pretty crazy... how’d you know I’d come?” He asked.

  
“I know your hunting ground, and it wasn’t entirely random. I’m not stupid, I made sure you were in the area before I was pushed.” You argued, following him down the street.  
“How’d you do that?” He stopped, turned to you and asked.

  
“Gun shot.” You answered, simply.

  
“What?” He asked, confused.

  
“The mugging one block over was to draw you out, the gunshot was the signal your arrival. Sure there were probably easier ways to find you, but hey I was bored.” You shrugged your shoulders.

  
“So the whole thing was like a scene from a play.” He shook his head in disbelief.  
“Precisely.” You nodded, before getting to the reason you were here, ”Hey Spider-kid I’ve got some questions for you.”

  
“I’m Spider-Man.” He corrected you, after glancing around to make sure you were alone.

  
“Not in that onesie you’re not. Anyway, the whole climbing walls thing. Is that the suit or you?” You asked, after smirking from your quip.

  
“Me.” He answered slowly, not knowing why you asked.

  
“Good.” You nodded, walking back towards your car.

  
“Why?” He asked.

  
“Don’t worry about it.” You smirked.

  
‘Hey Y/N, you got a last name?” He called over to you, as you unlocked your car and hopped in.

  
“Yup.” You answered with a wink, revving the engine to your Audi convertible and speeding off.


	2. Just a Kid

You barely heard the door to the lab open behind you, you were so deep in thought, mumbling to yourself about trackers and heaters.

“Wow.” You heard from behind you, causing you to jump.

“Dad! You scared me.” You said, rubbing your head. How long have I been working on this thing? You asked yourself, looking to your watch. 

“I can see that, but wow look at this thing. You did this all by yourself?” He asked, examining the suit in front of him.

“Well don’t act so surprised, I am a Stark after all.” You smirked. 

“The eyes look great.” He rubbed his finger over them.

“It includes a heads up display similar to yours. F.R.I. and I have even been working on it’s own AI. The webshooters probably took the longest, but we figured out about 500 different combinations of webs.” You explained.

“What do you mean?” He furrowed his brows.

“Well first we had to replicate the web fluid, and that took some time. But here, let me show you,” you said, slipping the webshooter around your wrist. “What the crime fighting spider uses right now is just a regular web.” You demonstrated by shooting a plain ‘ol web.

“Now we’ve got options for things like Ricochet Web, Splitter Web, Web Grenade, and my personal favorite... Taser Web.” You explained, shooting the webs onto an empty wall across from you.

“Wow.” Tony stood in shock.

“You said that already.” You smirked. “Of course all these advanced systems would take time and training to use, so most of them are currently disabled.”

“So have you actually found the guy yet?” He asked, fiddling with the suit.

“Um. Not yet, I’m still working on that part.” You spoke. Why did I just lie?

“Alright well, this looks amazing. Anything else you want to show me?” He said, obviously in a rush.

“We’ve got a parachute here in the back. I’ve got a surveillance drone here in the front.” You said spinning the suit and tapping the areas you spoke about. “But really it’s got everything you would ever need. Tracker, heater, ooh I even installed some webbing that could be used for flying. Well gliding really, but I think it’s pretty cool. And if the situation ever arises, we’ve got some instant kill lasers.”

“I should have let you design my suit.” He said, inspecting it some more. Your only reply was a smile.

You glanced down to your work bench and saw some of your original sketches for the suit. Peeking out you saw a sketch of Peter that you’d done. You made sure to push that far under the pile so your dad didn’t see it.

“I just came to check on you and your progress, I’ve got to go back to Berlin. They’re bringing Barnes, Cap, and Wilson in today.” He explained, straightening his tie.

“How is it being a government asset?” You asked with a smirk.

“Better than being a war criminal.” He kissed the top of your head before exiting the lab.

 After he left the lab you picked up the sketch of Peter and began shaking your head. You knew why you lied. You knew how bad things were getting and you didn’t want Peter dragged into this. If there was going to be a fight, which you highly anticipated, you didn’t want him to get hurt. That’s why you threw so much energy into making this suit, you wanted to help keep him as safe as possible.

 “Peter Parker you’ll be the death of me.” You whispered, biting your lip and hiding the sketch once more.

\-------------------------

 Two days later a phone call woke you up in the middle of the night.

 Incoming Call: Tony Stark

 “Hey dad.” You muttered in a husky voice.

 “Hey shits hit the fan. I’ve got 36 hours to bring in Cap, Wilson, and Barnes. You find the Spider guy? It’s been a week...” He said, you immediately shot up in bed.

 “Here’s the thing...” You began.

 “You couldn’t find him? I’m shocked.” Tony said, you could hear the disappointment in his voice.

 “No I found him within a day. I’m just not sure if you should bring him into all this.” You argued.

 “Why not?” He asked.

“Because he’s a fucking kid!” You yelled into the phone.

 “If I didn’t need him then I wouldn’t have asked you to find him. We’re seriously understaffed here. With Thor and Banner MIA we need some help.” He stubbornly retorted.

 “You so sure Banner would be on your side even if he was here?” You snapped.

 “Probably not, but as it is, we need the kid. Where’s he from?” He pressed.

 “Queens.” You finally broke after a sigh.

 “Ok, I’m coming to pick you up, let’s pay him a visit. I’ll text you when I land.” He explained.

 “Ok. It’s just him and his aunt. As far as I can tell no one else knows he’s a crime fighting spider or whatever.” You explained.

 “So we need an excuse to get him out of the country for a few days.” Tony stated.

 “What about the September Foundation? He’s a really bright kid, kinda reminds me of you. We could say he applied for the grant and got it, now there’s a retreat or something this weekend.” You thought after a few moments.

“Perfect. I’ll see you in a few hours.” Tony said, hanging up the phone.

You groaned and plopped back down in bed dramatically.

\-------------------------------

 You sat opposite of May Parker in an arm chair sipping tea. You rolled your eyes as your dad flirted shamelessly with her.

The door opened behind you and quickly closed. You heard footsteps pass you and go into the kitchen.

“Hey May. This crazy car’s parked outside.” Peter spoke, finally taking out his headphones and turning around. His jaw dropped open when he saw your father.

“Oh, Mr. Parker.” Your father smiled, putting his glass down on the table.

“What- What are you doin- Hey! Um, I’m Peter.” Peter nervously spewed.

“Tony... and I think you know my daughter Y/N.” He moved to the side to reveal you sitting behind them. You gave a short wave and a wink. Needless to say he was flustered.

“Daughter? I mean, right yeah, daughter, hey Y/N nice to see you again. What are you guys doing here?” Peter asked.

“It’s about time we met. You’ve been getting my emails, right?” Tony asked, you couldn’t see his face but knew he was giving Peter something that said ‘Go along with this’.

“Yeah, yeah.” Peter lied.

“You didn’t tell me about the grant.” May said.

“The September Foundation. Remember when you applied?” Tony asked, continuing the look to Peter.

“Yeah.” Peter nodded, shifting nervously on his feet.

 “I approved, so now we’re in business.” Tony clapped his hands together with a smile.

 “You didn’t tell me anything what’s up with that? You keeping secrets from me now?” May asked. She looked a lot younger than you expected, maybe that was just in the Parker family genes.

“I just know how much you love surprises so I thought I would let you know.” Peter spoke, you noticed his voice got higher when he was lying.

“Can I talk to him for five minutes?” Your dad asked, standing up from the couch.

“Sure.” May smiled.

“Y/N keep her company.” Your dad ordered, pointing to you.

“I’ll do my best.” You saluted him, as he followed Peter into his room and closed the doors.

“So how do you know Peter? You two go to school together?” May asked with a smile.

 “No I’m 18, I already graduated. I ran into him about a week ago. I’m kinda clumsy and I tripped and he caught me. Talk about a meet cute.” You laughed.

“Usually Peter’s the clumsy one.” May laughed. “So do you go to college here in the city?”

“I did for a bit, but not anymore. I went to MIT and got my first doctorate in electrical engineering, then as sort of a side interest I got my philosophy doctorate from Columbia last spring.” You explained, trying your best to sound humble.

“So you take after your dad I see.” She laughed.

 “Sometimes that’s not always a good thing.” You laughed. Suddenly Peter’s door opened and both men walked out.

“All set?” You asked, standing.

 "Yes dear.” Tony patted Peter on the back. “Ready to go?”

 “Do you mind if I talk to Peter before we go?” You asked, slowly stepping closer to him.

 “Quickly please.” Your father urged.

“Of course.” You nodded, closing the door to Peter’s room behind you.

\------------------------------

 “You didn’t tell me you were Iron Man’s daughter!” Peter whisper yelled at you. You placed a finger over your lips as you pushed him away from the door.

“It wouldn’t have made a difference. Are you sure you’re reading for this?” You asked, crossing your arms.

“For what?” He asked.

“For what you’re about to face this weekend. This isn’t muggings and bank robberies like you’re used to. You’re going to be going up against Captain America, The Winter Soldier, The Falcon, and I don’t even know who else. This is the major leagues kid, and I don’t want you to get hurt.” You explained.

“I’m not a kid, and I can hold my own.” He argued.

“You are a kid Peter, you’re 17. These guys you’re going up against are basically gods.” You retorted. 

“I may be a kid, but I know that I have these powers. Powers that I have to use. Because when you can do the things I can, but you don’t... and then bad things happen, they happen because of you.” He said, quietly. And you were sure of one thing: Peter Parker was a good guy.

“If you die this weekend, I’ll kill you.” You sighed and he smirked.

“I’ll try not to. You got any words of wisdom going into this?” He asked. 

“If you’re up against Cap: aim for the legs. His shield is only so big.” You smiled. “Feel free to drop by the tower when you get back, we may have some things to discuss.”

With that you sent him a wink as you left his bedroom, and returned to your dad in the living room.


	3. Mr. Stark

It’s been hours since you last heard from your father and you were starting to worry. It was now 3 AM and you couldn’t sleep. You stared at the unchanging ceiling.

This was your family out there. While they were out fighting you were sitting here doing nothing. Even worse, they were fighting each other. You weren’t the praying type, but you prayed that everyone made it out safely.

As if someone heard your prayers, your phone rang.

“Dad! Are you ok? Is everyone ok?” You asked, frantically jumping out of bed.

“I need you to meet us upstate, we’ll be there as soon as possible.” Tony breathed out, you could hear the pain in his voice.

“What’s wrong? Are you ok? Is Peter-” You began to ask but didn’t want to entertain the thought that he was hurt.

“I’m fine, the kids fine. It’s Rhodey. It’s bad.” He

“No. No, no, no. Ok, ok I’m on my way there now. I’ll be there when you land. I’ll have the medical team prep for his arrival. What the hell happened?” You asked as tears streamed down your face but you willed your mind to think straight.

“He was shot out of the sky.” A strained Tony spoke out.

“Jesus.” You whimpered.

“Cap got away with Barnes. The rest of them are being detained. I don’t know what more I can do here baby.” Tony cried, he must have been alone.

“You’ve done what you can, dad. More than that. You’ve tried to keep this team together, no one asked you to do that. You did the right thing. We can talk about it when I see you. I love you, I’ll see you in a few hours.” You finished, wiping another stray tear.

“I love you too.” Tony said, ending the call.

Uncle Rhodey had been there for you for years. He was your father’s oldest friend, and he’d been like a father to you. Rhodey was the one that would take care of you when your father would go out of town, with Pepper’s help. While your father was the one who taught you the ins and outs of technology, Rhodey was the one that taught you how to ride a bike. You remember when he’d take you on the train down to D.C. where he’d take you to all his favorite spots. You’d walk the Mall, see the Washington Monument. Once he even got you into the White House.

God, now you didn’t even know if he was going to make it. For your father to say that it’s bad, then it must be. He would be the one to reassure you that everything's fine, that Rhodey would be fine. Tony was scared, and that scared you.

You grabbed a small duffel bag and threw in some clothes before getting dressed. You threw the bag over your shoulder and stopped when you saw your reflection in the mirror. You wished you hadn’t.

Dark circles hung under your nearly bloodshot eyes, your cheeks were puffy and your hair was a poofy mess. You signed and dried your eyes the best you could, before grabbing your keys and heading to the garage.

The drive was the worst. While it was still dark and there was no one on the road, you had this gut feeling the whole time that something was wrong. You sat for two hours alone with your thoughts, having no idea what was to come. You hated not knowing. You hated walking into a situation unprepared.

You made it to the compound upstate around 5:30 AM. You made sure the medical staff was up and ready to receive Rhodes when he arrived.

 -------------------------------------

What remained of the team arrived just as the sun was beginning to rise. You saw Vision first, who looked more distressed than usual. Then Nat, who looked guilty. Then you saw your father, sporting a fresh black eye. He looked worse than you.

“Dad!” You ran, throwing yourself into his arms, fresh tears streaming down your face.

“It’s alright kid. It’s gonna be alright.” He winced, but embraced you. He rubbed soothing circles into your back.

You only pulled away when you heard wheels moving behind you and your father. A gurney.

“Uncle Rhodey.” You cried, grabbing his hand and walking with the gurney as he was wheeled closer and closer to the medical bay.

“Don’t cry for me, pretty girl. You drive all this way to see me?” He asked with a smile, but you could see the fear in his eyes.

“I would have traveled halfway around the world just for you.” You smiled through your tears.

“Ms. Stark we need to take him now for X-rays.” The man wheeling Rhodey said, which was the polite version of ‘go away’.

You nodded and removed your hand from Rhodey’s. You sat and waited for news. An hour later you stood on the balcony of the compound, your father suddenly joining you.

“The doctors say he’s shattered L4 through S1. Extreme laceration to the spinal cord. Probably looking at some form of paralysis.” Tony spoke, and you turned to face him.

He was now wearing a sling. You looked up to him, you were all cried out.

“Will he walk again?” You asked.

“Maybe, it’s too soon to tell.” He answered honestly.

“How did this happen?” You asked, turning back towards the breeze.

“It was an accident. It’s only the beginning. Nat was the one who let Cap and Barnes escape so now they’re coming for her too. Now we-” He was cut off by a buzz on his wrist.

“What am I looking at here F.R.I.D.A.Y.?” He asked, enlarging the photo which appeared to be a dead body in a bathtub.

“Priority upload from Berlin police.” A computerised voice answered.

“Fire up the chopper.” Tony turned back to you. “I have to go. I’m sorry.”

He placed a kiss on your forehead before rushing back inside the compound.

You let out a breath with a slight shake of your head. You rested your arms on the railing, letting your head hang low.

The sound of the glass door opening behind you caused it to shoot back up. Thinking it was your father returning, you whipped around, only to see another familiar face staring at you with wide eyes.

“Are you ok?” Peter Parker asked, the long sleeves of his jacket were balled up in his hands nervously.

“I’m fine.” You lied.

“You don’t look fine.” Peter observed, moving to stand next to you.

“Then stop looking.” You snapped, your words sharp as glass.

For a second Peter looked scared of you, before softening his features and realizing the pain you were in.

“That was mean, I’m sorry.” You said, finally getting a good look at him and the shiner he was sporting.

“You don’t have to apologize, I’m sure this must be hard for you.” Peter said, inching closer to you.

“It’s my family. It’s all I’ve ever known and it’s just being ripped apart right in front of me and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.” You signed.

Peter looked up at you, unaware of what to do. He now realized how close you two were standing. God he wanted to kiss you right now, he wanted to take all your pain away.

You extended your hand up to the side of his face, making sure to be gentle.

“This must have hurt.” You smiled, examining it.

“Oh, yeah, I mean- not that much.” He said, trying to sound tough. It caused you to chuckle. He loved seeing a smile on your face after the day you’ve had.

“Alright tough guy. How’d you do?” You asked.

“Pretty well, I think. I stole Cap’s shield, that was pretty cool. That thing does not obey the laws of physics at all.” Peter spoke, geeking out.

“I’m aware, my granddad built it.” You smirked.

“Woah. That’s cool.” Peter smiled, he was such a dork, but a dork that was slowly stealing your heart.

“I know. So how’d the suit hold up?” You asked.

“The suits awesome! Mr. Stark did a great job designing it. And the web shooters, oh my god. They’re perfect. They’re as I’ve always envisioned them.” Peter smiled, glancing down at them.

“That’s great to hear, but um, _Mr. Stark_ didn’t design or build it.” You told him.

“He didn’t?” Peter furrowed his eyebrows, “Who did?”

“I did.” You smiled, looking up to him.

“What, no way. This thing is amazing! God, you’re really like the perfect girl aren’t you.” Peter spoke without thinking, your eyes grew wide, “Uh, hah, I just mean, you, uh, you’ve just got it all. You’re brilliant, talented, beautiful, and the daughter of Tony Stark.”

“I don’t usually consider being a Stark a character trait but thanks, I think there was a complement in there somewhere.” You smiled, willing yourself to ignore the fact that he just called you beautiful.

“I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant. Of course you’re more than just Mr. Stark’s daughter. I didn’t mean-” Peter began to ramble but you cut him off.

“I know what you meant Pete, don’t worry about it.” You turned back towards the building and could see the doctors milling around the bay. Every time you looked at it you were reminded of Rhodey’s dark fate and couldn’t bare it.

“Hey, do you want to get out of here?” You asked, turning back to Peter.

“Uh, yeah, I mean, no I’ve got school tomorrow.” Peter stumbled over his words.

“Alright kid, then why don’t you let me give you a ride back to Queens.” You giggled, grabbing his arm and dragging him back into the compound.

A goofy grin adorned his face the whole way. All he could think of was how perfect his name sounded from your mouth. He especially loved it when you called him ‘Pete’. He also knew that your father would kill him if he ever touched you. But God, that wouldn’t make him want to any less.

  



	4. A Little Big on Me

“Come on Pete, hop in,” You said, exiting your garage and sliding into an Audi convertible. He cautiously opened the door and sat beside you as you revved it up.  

“Do you want AUX?” You asked, slipping on some expensive sunglasses and setting up the navigation on the touch screen in front of you.

“W-what?” Peter asked, he either misheard you or was so nervous he didn’t realize you had started talking, much less that you were addressing him.

“Do you want to play music?” You asked again with a laugh.

“Oh, yeah sure, uh. What do you like?” He asked, pulling out his phone. When the bluetooth signal came up on your display you tapped the icon that said ‘Peter Parker’s iPhone’ and waited for the device to pair.

“I’m not picky.” You informed him.

“Ok, I kinda have an obscure music taste.” He said nervously, clearly wanting to please you and not embarrass himself in the process.

“I kinda get an 80s indie vibe from you.” You teased with a smile.

“Ha I don’t- I don’t know about that.” He let out a nervous laugh.

“Hm, well I’m sure you don’t want to listen to dad’s AC DC he’s got programed in every car so go for it.” You reassured him as you backed out of the car and onto the road.

“Wait... I love this song!” You smiled to him as soon as you recognized it.

“Really?” Peter asked surprised but excited, he clearly was a fan of this song too, he chose it after all.

“Yeah! I remember the first time I heard it. It was summer so I was in the city and not off at school, and I was in one of those rowboats in Central Park with my friend Tom. God that seemed so long ago.” You smiled at the memory. Peter stared at you as you spoke, half in aw, half curious as to who this ‘Tom’ fellow was.

“I’ve never been there.” He admitted.

“To Central Park or the boathouse?” You asked.

“The boathouse, but I’ve never really spent that much time in the park either.” He spoke casually. You noticed he didn’t stutter or waver his voice nervously as he normally did. He must have been getting more and more comfortable around you, at least enough to be himself.

“What? How?” You teased.

“I don’t know. I guess I always kinda just stayed in Queens. I haven’t really explored Manhattan.” He said.

“Oh my god! Peter Parker I’m taking you, that’s decided. I’ll give you a grand upper east side tour, Central Park and all. I need to scout the area for an apartment anyway.” You spoke freely, too freely it seemed.

“What why?” He asked immediately as the words left your mouth.

“Shit, I shouldn’t have said that. I know you won’t tell anyone, but we’re selling the tower in a few months and moving full time upstate. So I’ll get an apartment near 5th.” You began to explain as the last song ended. “Ok ok, I see your Wham! and I raise you: Toto. F.R.I.D.A.Y? You know what to do.”

“Playing Africa by Toto, Ms. Stark.” F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s robotic accent spoke from the speakers of the car. Peter laughed as the iconic song began to blare, fully aware of it’s meme-like status.

“I swear I was going to play that next.” He laughed before returning to your prior subject, “Wait why aren’t you moving upstate?”

“Well I’m not an Avenger am I?” You teased.

“I’ll be back and forth though. I’ll run our philanthropy from here and meet with investors and shareholders, then I’ll work in the lab when I’m up there. I just can’t let go of the city that easily.” You answered truthfully.

“Yeah, I get that. I can’t picture being anywhere else.” He agreed.

“Well what about college?” You asked.

“What about it?” He returned.

“Peter, you’re brilliant. Don’t you want to go to Harvard or MIT or something?” You offered, shifting the car into autopilot and turning to face him.

“I don’t know, I mean, I don’t know if I could get in.” He answered truthfully.

“We’ve got pull at MIT. Dad and I both graduated from there, if you don’t get in, which you would, one phone call from me and you’d be set.” You attempted to calm his fears.

“Wait... you’re like 19 how have you already graduated?” He asked, taken aback.

“Oh, uh, well I take after dad I guess. I graduated with my PhD from MIT, then got another from Columbia last year. And I’m 18 by the way. But that’s boring, you could read about it in any magazine, tell me about you.” You asked, attempting to be humble.

“Um well, I don’t know, no ones ever really asked me that before.” He said, looking down to his hands.

“Really? Ok well friends?” You asked him, steering him along.

“Ned. He’s my best friend, and kinda my only friend. That sounds lame hearing it out loud.” He said, getting nervous again, you would have to reassure him.

“Not really considering my best friend growing up was J.A.R.V.I.S., so you’re in good company.” You laughed.

“Jarvis?” Peter asked confused.

“He was my dad’s AI, now he’s part of Vision’s interface. F.R.I.D.A.Y.s kinda taken over his mantle. Ok so Ned, tell me about him.” You smiled, wanting to know more about Peter’s life.

“Uh he really likes Star Wars, like really likes Star Wars.” He laughed.

“I’ve never seen it.” You said.

“What? How?” He asked, taken aback.

“Wait, well, I guess technically I’ve seen The Last Jedi because I went to the premiere with John Boyega. But I haven’t seen any of the other stuff so it didn’t make much sense to me. So what does Spidey do when he’s not being Spidey?” You asked, changing the subject.

“John Boyega? That’s so cool. He’s so cool!” Peter said, excitedly.

“Yeah he is, he’s a friend. Next time he’s in town I’ll let you know.” You laughed, “But you’re avoiding my question Spidey.”

“I don’t know. I like taking things apart I guess, putting them back together. Old DVD players, TVs, computers, whatever I can find out on the streets.” He answered, ignoring the way his stomach did flips every time you called him Spidey.

“So what I’m hearing is that I’ll have to give you a tour of the lab some time. I have free reign when dad’s out working.” You offered.

“That would be amazing. Wow so you’re like just like Mr. Stark then, building things and stuff.” Peter said.

“I’m just a girl with a couple of tools, sometimes I make something that works.” You smiled, once again being humble. You turned to your right peering out as you crossed over the Queensboro bridge onto Queens Boulevard, “Ah the place where it all began.”

“I still can’t believe you jumped off a bridge just to put a tracker on me.” Peter shook his head.

“Hey a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. Let me have my avengers moment, it’s the closest I’ll ever get.” You sighed, placing your hands back on the wheel, turning off autopilot as you got into more and more traffic.

“You don’t have your own Iron Man suit? An Iron Woman suit?” He asked, half teasing, half serious.

“Ha! You think my father would ever let that happen? He barely lets me date, I don’t think I could convince him to let me fight crime or aliens or whatever. I’m more of a behind the scenes gal anyway, I’m more useful behind a computer than in the field. I don’t know if New York needs anymore heros.” You spoke.

“What do you mean?” He asked you.

“Well you know, Queens has you, Hells Kitchen has the Daredevil, Harlem has Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, there’s enough enhanced beings out there, I don’t think a rich unenhanced kid with a few college degrees would be much help.” You said.

“I think you don’t give yourself enough credit.” Peter said.

“I think I give myself just the right amount of credit. I know my limits. Well it looks like we’ve made it to your place Spidey.” You spoke, pulling up in front of his apartment building.

“May would kill me if I didn’t invite you up for dinner.” Peter said confidently, looking at his watch.

“That sounds really great Pete but is there any way I could get a raincheck? It’s just that I’ve slept about 2 hours in the last few days and I just want to get back to the compound take a shower, take a nap, and be there for Rhodey when he wakes up.” You smiled, even though dinner with the Parkers sounded quaint and somehow homey.

“Yeah, yeah of course, I didn’t even think about that, sorry.” He said, running his fingers through his loose curls.

“No it’s ok, its ok. But thanks for the offer, and thanks for being a great road trip buddie. These last few weeks have been kinda rough for me, so it was really nice to just let loose and have some fun.” You smiled, even though you were exhausted.

“Yeah it was actually really fun.” Peter laughed, thinking back on the last two hours.

“Have a nice night Pete, good luck explaining that shiner to your Aunt May.” You smiled and unlocked the car door.

“Well that part I’m used to.” He laughed, now standing in the doorway, about to close the door.

“Uh Pete? Forgetting something?” You spoke before he closed the door completely.

“Uh,” He looks around nervously, were you expecting a hug goodbye or something? He didn’t know so he began to move towards you and you laughed.

“The case silly, but I’ll take a hug if you’re offering.” You spoke, Peter laughed and quickly hugged you before realizing what you said.

“Wait? I get to keep the suit?” He asked slowly, in disbelief.

“Yeah it’s a little big on me. I made this for you Pete, it’s designed especially for you and your powers of course you get to keep it. Friends don’t let friends swing around Queens in sweats. Now get out of here before May gets even more worried.” You smiled.

“Oh my god, thank you, thank you!” He quickly hugs you again without even thinking about it, “Oh sorry I’ll just, yeah, bye Y/N.”

He jumped out of the car holding the silver case, a goofy grin on his face as you waved and pulled away.

  



	5. Depends Who's Asking

It had been a few weeks since you had seen Peter. It had been so crazy dealing with the fall out of what had happened with Cap. He and Bucky were still in the wind, along with everyone Cap had broken out of SeaGate. 

You spent a lot of time in the lab with your dad working on new nanite technology. When you weren’t in the lab, you were preparing for events you had to make an appearance at. You’d been busy to say the least, but this was your job. 

You hadn’t really kept up with Peter as much as you’d like to, but you were both busy people. You always kept an eye out for him though, tracking his suit, making sure he wasn’t in over his head.

You were currently on your way to pick up a dress for an event, sitting in the back seat on your phone as Happy drove you. Ever since the Accords your father has been slightly more protective than usual. It’s a tense situation for all of us.

As you arrived at your destination and stood outside of the car talking to Happy, you were unaware of the conversation going on on the patio nearby.

“Dude! Dude! Dude!” Ned slapped Peter’s arm repeatedly as they sat outside a cafe and ate while doing homework.

“What??” Peter asked, slightly annoyed but more confused.

“Look, it’s Y/N Stark!” Ned said, pointing to you as you coordinated the rest of your day with Happy.

“How do you know?” Peter asked confused, thinking maybe Ned had met you before.

“Dude she’s practically famous. She’s Tony Stark’s daughter. She runs all the family’s philanthropic work so basically she just dresses up and goes to galas all the time and gets her pictures taken with celebrities. And she’s dating the mayor’s son. I heard once she got caught-” Ned rambled but Peter cut him off.

“How do you know all that?” Peter asked him, in shock.

“How do you not! I’m telling you, read Cosmo for once and it could totally help out in a situation like this.” Ned said confidently.

“A situation like what?” Peter said, but it was too late. Ned had already began to stand up and had his sights set on you.

“Come on, I’m going over there.” Ned began to walk but Peter grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling him backwards.

“What? No!” Peter said, losing grip on Ned’s shirt. Ned was halfway to you, Peter on his tails. You were now waving goodbye to Happy and about to turn around. 

“Why I want to meet her.” Ned argued, where had all this confidence come from?

“No Ned we should leave her alone.” Peter whisper yelled but it was too late.

“Dude chill,” Ned whispered before saying, “Uuh hi sorry are you Y/N Stark by any chance?”

“Depends who’s asking,” You said turning around to see a kid in front of you, then noticing another hiding behind him, “Hey Pete.”

“Do you know him?” Ned asked shocked.

“Of course! The famous Peter Parker,” you smirked, “And you must be Ned.”

“You... you know my name?” 

“Sure. Pete speaks very well of you.” You smile, remembering your little road trip with him.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were friends with Y/N Stark!” Ned whisper yells to Peter, a gentle smirk dons your face.

“Uh, I don’t know, I didn’t want to ya know, make a big deal out of it. She’s just a normal girl Ned.” Peter said, and your smirk dropped, a smile replacing it. Never once have you been called normal, even though it’s all you’ve ever wanted. Your whole life you’ve been thrown into greatness and every nanosecond has been criticized and cataloged. Normal is something you would never be, but always still strive for.

“Right, sorry.” Ned gave you a guilty smile.

“Don’t worry about it. Listen I’m kinda late for something, it was really nice to meet you Ned,” You looked down at your watch as you spoke, “Oh I nearly forgot, Pete could you come by the tower tonight?” 

You looked between Ned and Peter curiously as you completed your thought, obviously having to make up a lie to mask the real reason you need him at the tower. It was also obvious to you that Ned didn’t know Peter was Spider-Man. 

“Dad has some, uh extra internship stuff he wants to talk to you about.” You lied, in reality you had updated the software on his suit and needed to install it. 

“Yeah sure, uh, what are you doing around this part of town?” Peter asked curiously, but casually. 

“The best tailor in new york has a studio about a block over, I’m getting a dress fitted for some gala I have to go to tomorrow night.” You smiled.

“Oh? What’s it for?” He asked, making sure not to sound pushy.

“Oh, it’s a, well it’s just this fundraiser.” You shook your head dismissively. Why did you feel guilty all of a sudden?

“That sound fun what’s it for?” Peter asked.

“Um, it’s for the uh the mayor’s re-election campaign.” You spoke awkwardly. Why were you nervous telling Peter this?

“Oh, I didn’t know Stark Industries donated to political campaigns.” Peter asked surprised. Well he really did his research didn’t he. 

“We don’t actually, it’s more of a social thing, uh, well I hope you boys enjoy your dinner, I really do have to run! See ya tonight Pete, it was nice to meet you Ned!” You answered and waved goodbye as you journeyed down the street. 

You’d never felt like this before. Was it guilt? Anxiety? Whatever it was, you didn’t like it. Why was it so hard for you to tell Peter that you were attending an event with your boyfriend. There’s no reason you should be ashamed of that. Is there? Your head spun as you entered the cool apartment building, making your way up to the penthouse for your fitting.

  -----------------------------

You returned to the tower that night after your fitting and an apartment showing uptown. You immediately went to the lab and got back to work on the coding you were doing for Peter’s suit. 

You lost track of time, pushing your glasses up into your hair and rubbing your face in exhaustion. You were almost finished but this last line was proving to be more fickle than anticipated.  You sat with your head in your hands in thought, leaning onto the cold metal counter when you were interrupted by a voice from above.

“A visitor has arrived for you at the front desk Ms. Stark.” F.R.I.D.A.Y. informed you.

“I’m assuming it’s our friendly neighborhood Spider-ling?” You asked, making your way towards the elevator.

“That would be correct.” F.R.I.D.A.Y said, and you nodded pressing the button for the first floor.

The metal doors slid open to reveal Peter, holding the chunky metal case, talking nervously to the security guard. Obviously he was skeptical that Peter actually had a reason to be here. He was nearly ready to interrogate him until you arrived. 

“Hi-hi Y/N.” Peter said, nervously.

“Hey Peter. It’s ok Niles he’s with me.” You nodded to the guard, who reluctantly let Peter past him.

“Thanks.” Peter nodded as he approached you, clearly examining you. No doubt he clocked your tired red eyes and bags beginning to form under them. He knew you were exhausted.

“The hero of Queens’ one weakness is hourly paid security guards, I’ll keep that in mind.” You quipped with a monotone voice, Peter could tell your energy for witty banter was running low. Peter chuckled lowly, letting you have this one.

The elevator doors opened into the lab and Peter was taken aback. As you exited the elevator back to your workbench, Peter stood frozen at the entrance to the room. His mouth hung open slightly.

“I made a couple software updates to the suit, just some quick fixes that had to be uploaded remotely. It shouldn’t take more than an hour-” You spoke but turned to see Peter dumbfounded. “Yeah that’s usually most people’s reaction.”

“This can’t be real.” Peter said, finally taking a few steps toward you.

“This is nothing, the lab upstate is even more impressive.” You smiled. “I see you brought the suit.”

“Yeah, I figured that was the reason you wanted me here. I heard your dad was out of the country so he didn’t need to talk to me.” Peter said, tapping the case and laying it up on the counter.

“You really are as bright as they say.” You smiled, popping open the case and plugging it in. 

“Oh! Yes, yes, thank god.” You said, quickly resolving your coding nightmare and finding your missing puzzle piece. You typed it in and began downloading the update.

“Everything ok?” Peter asked, leaning forward to read the screen as the numbers whizzed by.

“That last line was really kicking my ass, I knew it would come to me eventually.” You smiled, stepping back from the screen.

“Well it’s nice to finally find a flaw.” Peter joked.

“There’s plenty to choose from.” You sighed, smiling to Peter so he knows his joke didn’t hurt your feelings. 

“I doubt that.” He muttered, beginning to roam the lab.

“Wanna see something cool?” You asked.

“There’s more?” Peter whipped around.

You smirked and walked over to your standing monitors, Peter in toe.

“F.R.I pull up 17A specs.” You said, and a hologram of Peter’s suit appeared in between you too. Peter’s eyes grew wide as he reached to touch it, his fingers slipping through the light display.

“This is amazing.” He smiled at you like a giddy kid.

“There’s a few features I wanna show you right now, the rest we’ll have to save for another time.” you lifted your hand and pushed the hologram, spinning the suit to the back.

“You see this large spider in the back?” You asked.

“Yeah it’s super cool-” Peter began.

“It’s also a parachute. If you reach a high enough altitude, this could save your ass. Your super healing or whatever isn’t going to fix a broken neck.” You spun the suit once more.

“Aunt May would kill me.” Peter said.

“I would kill you.” You smiled, you stepped in front of him, lifting the arms of the hologram so that the webbing appeared.

“Now, I can’t give you rocket boosters.” You began.

“That would be so cool!” Peter smiled.

“Oh I know it would be. But you’ve got that whole swinging from webs thing, very on brand. But if you ever need to kind of glide or catch some wind, here’s some webbing.” You pointed.

“Wow, you really spent a lot of time on this suit.” Peter said quietly, he was so close you could almost feel his breath on your neck. You spun to face him.

“Well, you’re worth it I guess.” You smirked. Your heart began to nearly beat out of your chest. What was happening? You looked up to meet Peter’s brown eyes, they were dilated slightly. 

Your head began to pound, seriously what was this? It had to be more than just extreme exhaustion. You grew dizzy and placed your hand on Peter’s chest to steady yourself. You felt his hands grab onto either side of you to hold you up.

“You ok y/n?” He asked softly.

“Yeah I, I think I just need some air.” You said, turning and making your way to the balcony. You stepped outside and took a deep breath as the cool fall air hit your face. You heard the door close behind you.

“I think you need some sleep.” Peter suggested, guiding you outside with a hand on your back. It felt so natural you barely noticed it there.

“I don’t really sleep much anymore. The Accords have been hard for all of us.” You sighed. Sure you weren’t on house arrest, but you were affected too. Your whole life was turned upside down. Your family and friends are in the wind, everything you do is being monitored. 

“I know I can’t possibly understand what you’re going through, but if you ever need someone to talk to or anything like that, I’m here.” Peter said softly. You were now leaning against the railing of the balcony, you turned and looked up to him. No one has ever been this genuine with you. You felt so comforted by his words, a few tears began to well up in your eyes. 

“I always have to be strong for dad, because I know he blames himself for everything that’s happened, but I don’t know if it will ever get better. I don’t know if there’s any fixing this.” You said, a tear slipping loose and sliding down your face.

“You don’t have to put up a front for me.” Peter said gently. 

You bit your lip, holding back more tears and wrapped your arms under his, burying yourself into his chest. You felt his arms secure around you, and in the chaos that was your world, for at least a minute, you felt safe. 

  
  



	6. Mr. Mayor

A loud ding from within the lab pulled your attention from Peter. That had to be his suit. The update must have been successfully completed and installed.

“I’m sorry, I don’t usually um” You motioned between the two of you, referring to what just happened.

“It’s ok, you don’t have to apologize.” Peter smiled sweetly, looking down with concern in his eyes.

“I know its just uh,” You didn’t know the words to describe how you were feeling, so you just shook your head and changed the subject, “That’s your suit.”

You walked back into the lab, beginning to pull the wires from Peter’s suit and fold it back into the heavy metal case.

“I’m sure Aunt May is waiting up for you.” You spoke as you extending the case to him.

“Actually I told her I was staying at Neds tonight...” Peter took the case from your hand and paused for a minute before cautiously saying, “I don’t want to leave you all alone in this tower if you’re not ok Y/N.”

“I’ll be ok, I have to be. This is my life Peter, I can’t change that, I just have to deal with it.” You crossed your arms over your chest.

“Well you don’t have to deal with it alone if you don’t want to.” He offered, no one had ever said that to you before.

“Do you want to stay?” You took a chance, “I mean we’ve got plenty of room, and some pizza and a movie sounds really good.”

“That sounds amazing.” He laughed and smiled.

“Follow me,” You motioned towards the elevator as you got in and hit the button for your floor.

The elevator opened onto your floor. On the right was the kitchen which extended into the large chic living room. That connected to your bedroom and bathroom.

You pointed to the phone on the counter.

“Order the pizza, I’m gonna take a quick shower.” You instructed.

“From where?” He asked picking up the futuristic looking phone.

“If you eat pizza from anywhere other than Joe’s we need to talk.” You smirked.

“Ok, ok just making sure.” Peter laughed.

“Tell them it’s for me and it should be on the house.” You spoke from the doorway of your bedroom.

“For real?” Peter asked, eyes growing wide in surprise.

“Dad saved the owner a few years ago during the incident. Haven’t paid for pizza since.” You shrugged, “F.R.I pull up the theatre display and help Pete pick a movie.”

“On it Ms. Stark.” F.R.I.D.A.Y replied.

\--

A few minutes later you returned to the cozy living space with slightly damp hair, no makeup, sporting a big T-shirt and shorts.

The smell of pizza hit you right when you entered the room.

“I’ve never seen pizza delivered so fast in my life.” Peter said before shoving the slice in his mouth.

“I think that’s part of the Avenger’s discount.” You smirked as you stuck a slice in your mouth. God bless Joe’s Pizza you thought.

“Did you pick a movie?” You asked, leaning against the counter.

“Well you don’t make it easy, you own every movie ever made,” He laughed before looking up to you, “Are you sure you want to watch a movie, you should probably get some sleep.”

“I don’t sleep, haven’t been able to in weeks. Not since we signed the accords. So movie it is.” You said as you  jumped on the couch with a slice of pizza in your hands.

Peter grabbed the box and placed it on your coffee table before taking a seat beside you on your large sectional.

“Wait, you have the new James Bond movie?” Peter asked, excitement in his voice when he saw it on the screen, “It’s not even in theatres yet! How is that possible?”

“I know a guy.” You shrugged.

“Is that guy Daniel Craig?” Peter rolled his eyes.

“No...but I know him too.” You said, sporting a smirk as Pete laughed.

“Do you mind if we watch it?” Peter asked.

“I’d want nothing else.” You smiled.

You started the movie, and Peter was super into it, granted it is a really good movie. After eating for a little while, you threw away the empty box and turned off the lights. You returned to the couch and curled up with a blanket.

About thirty minutes into the movie Peter turned to you to ask you a question. He seems that you’re fast asleep, a smile grows on his face and he lets you sleep. He lowered the volume on the TV because he knows how long its been since you’ve slept.

About an hour later you turned over, unconsciously leaning into Peter’s side and laying an arm over him. He only smiled and put an arm around your back.

\---------------------------------

You woke up cuddled into Peter’s side on the couch. You saw that he was still asleep too. You turned to look at the clock, it was 10:00. Had you really slept like 11 hours? That seemed impossible to you, seeing your recent average was about 2 hours.

You went to your kitchen and whipped up some pancakes, the smell waking Peter up.

“God those smell so good.” He padded over to the kitchen and slid onto your bar stool.

“Family recipe.” You winked.

“How’d you sleep?” He asked.

“Amazing. Like super amazing, I haven’t slept that long in years.” You said, sliding a plate of pancakes over to him.

“I’m glad.” He smiled as you joined him.

“Did u like the movie?” You asked.

“It was really good! Too bad there won’t be another.” He commented.

“There won’t be?” You asked in insinuation.

“Didn’t Daniel Craig say he’d rather slit his wrists than play Bond again?” Peter raised an eyebrow.

“He did, but for enough money anyone will do anything.” You said.

“Your kidding, he’s doing another?” Peter asked in shock.

“Don’t tell anyone, you’re pretty good at keeping a secret.” You laughed.

You ate with Peter and talked. It felt so natural to be with him, you haven’t enjoyed yourself like this in a while.

“Ms. Stark your one o’clock is here.” F.R.I.D.A.Y said, you didn’t know it was already one.

“My what?” You asked, before it hit you, “Oh god the galas tonight. Like tonight tonight. Tell her I’ll be down in a minute.”

“I’m so sorry Peter, I completely forgot.” You said, rushing to clean up the living space for your hair and makeup stylist.

“No it’s ok, I should probably get going. I’ve got rounds soon anyway.” He smiled.

“Be careful please.” You pleaded with a smile.

“I always am.” He said, you raised an eyebrow and smiled. 

\---------------------------------

After hours of hair and makeup you heard the elevator open behind you. You were almost finished with your stylist, still sitting in your room in a silk robe about to put your dress on.

“There’s my pretty girl,” Your boyfriend Tom walked into your room and placed a kiss on your cheek.

“Hi handsome, we’re almost done here.” You informed him.

“No rush, we can be fashionably late.” He made his way in his tux over to your couch and plopped down where you are Peter slept the night before. Guilt began to well up in you.

Of course nothing happened, Peter was just a friend who was there for you in your time of need.

A few minutes later you entered the living room donning a silk champagne colored gown that fit you perfectly.

“Wow, you look amazing,” Tom stood to greet you, his eyes scanning you before quietly saying, “I can’t wait to get home and rip that dress of you.”

“Ah,ah,ah you better behave tonight. This is very important for your father and his image, he needs votes and donations, not another scandal from his son.” You warned.

“Ouch I’m hurt.” He placed his hands on his heart, being dramatic, you just rolled your eyes, “Kidding, I’ll behave, I know father would have my head if I didn’t.”

 

You both entered the limo outside of Stark Tower and headed to the gala. Once you arrived the place was crawling with paparazzi. You answered a few questions from reporters and broke away from Tom before entering the ballroom.

“Ms. Stark?” A voice called from beside you, you turned to see a familiar face, though you’ve never met before, “Danny Rand.”

“Y/N please,” You said as you shook his hand outside the building. “Danny Rand, back from the dead. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“There’s something you should know about Mayor-” Danny tried to warn you before

“Babe we gotta go, they’re starting.” Tom interrupted and placed an arm around your hip, pulling you towards the door.

“Find me inside.” You mouthed to Danny, not knowing that security wouldn’t let him in. 

You made your way to your table at the front of the ballroom, where the mayor greeted you with open arms.

“Thank you for coming Y/N.” The mayor nodded.

“Well someone has to keep Thomas in line.” You joked, getting a laugh from the table.

“Better you than me.” The mayor smirked before making his way onto the stage.

Little did you know Peter didn’t have a good feeling about this event. Call it Spidey-Senses if you want. He hated how happy you looked with the mayor’s son, though he knows if he really cares about you he should be happy for you. You live in different worlds, you’re the daughter of a billionaire for christ sake, he’s just a kid from Queens.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to welcome you to-” The mayor began but the mic cut out. Your head was spinning and your ears were ringing. You opened your eyes to see smoke covering half the room, tables and chairs scattered around. You were on the ground bleeding. As you tried to make sense of everything around you, another explosion went off. This time followed by half a dozen men barging into the broken wall of the ballroom.

You turned behind you to see your boyfriend Thomas cowering behind you. You tried to sit up but your whole body hurt.

The men were now coming towards you, and they had guns, big guns. They took a shot at the mayor who was now on the floor of the stage, but he was pulled away by security.

You twist your bracelet, pulling the exposed metal up over your fingers as it turns into a fingerless unpainted Iron Man hand. You shot at the man now coming towards you, sending him soaring backwards, knocking him out unconscious.

You saw Peter swing in, starting to web up some of the intruders. Two approach you from behind, you shoot one, but the other grabs your arm and holds it back, immobilizing your one weapon. You pull your free arm back, bloodying your knuckles as you rammed your fist into his face. His grip loosened on your arm and you were able to break free. He tried to take a swing at you, but you were able to block it. You used the chair next to you to jump and strike him again, sending him to the ground. You were now standing over him, and pulled his mask off. He seemed to be knocked out.

You turned to see Peter finishing the last one off, and making his way across the ballroom to you. You still couldn’t hear anything and your vision was blurry. You noticed Peter raise his hand to aim behind you, but it was too late. As you spun around to see your attacker, you took a hard blow with the butt of his large machine gun. The force of the blow pushed you to the ground. You knew it had broken a rib or two. From the ground, with all the strength you had, you raised your arm to shoot him with your Iron Man hand, and he was out.

You attempted to stand, leaning on the turned over table for support. Peter was only a few feet away from you now. You limped towards him, trying to mutter his name as you reached an arm towards him, and fell unconscious.

“Pe-” Was all Peter heard as you collapsed and he caught you in his arms.

  



	7. Visiting Hours

“It’s been four days, doc! You have to do something!” Tony yelled at the doctor in the hallway outside of your room in Med Bay.

“We’re doing everything we can Mr. Stark. Right now she needs to rest. She’s got three broken ribs, mild internal bleeding, lacerations, not to mention a bad concussion likely from the explosions.” The doctor discussed with Tony.

You could hear their conversation, but you couldn’t see them. It was as if you could feel it. Everything was black. Suddenly from beside you, you heard whispering while the yelling continued in the hall.

“Please Y/N, you gotta wake up soon. Your dad needs you. I... I need you. You have to be ok. This was all my fault, I had a bad feeling about that damn gala and I never should have let you go. Please Y/N. I know you’re a fighter. God, I saw you fight. Please, you have to fight this too.” A voice you recognized as Peter pleaded.

You felt pressure on your hand, he must have reached to grab it. You tried to grab his back but your feeble attempt must not have worked. You tried again, beginning slowly to move.

“Mr. Stark, there’s a Thomas de Blasio here requesting to see your daughter.” A voice said from the doorway, your father must have returned to the room.

“Tell him to fuck off.” You muttered, your words coming out more of a scratchy groan than English.

The weight once resting on your eyelids lifted, and you blinked back the brightness of the room. You were now able to successfully grab onto Peter’s hand, and his eyes went wide, followed by a smile.

You saw the nurse standing in the doorway with wide eyes, not sure of what to do.

“You heard her. Better yet, I’ll gladly tell him myself.” Your father strutted from the room in an angry stupor. You almost pitied the man who would incur his wrath. Almost. 

“Shouldn’t you be in school Parker?” You glanced up to him with a smirk.

“Jesus Y/N, you could have died and that’s what you’re worried about?” Peter asked, and you shrug innocently. 

“Education is very important, did people not think it suspicious when you snuck away to the super secret Avenger’s compound in the middle of the day?” You asked.

“Nope.” Peter laughed, “Can I ask a stupid question?”

“Better than anyone I know.” You quipped, earning a laugh from Peter and making yourself laugh before immediately regretting it. 

“Jesus christ.” You gasped, holding your side in pain. Your whole torso was bandaged up like a medical grade corset. 

“Don’t laugh, you’ve got broken ribs.” Peter scolded.

“And internal bleeding, and whole laundry list of injuries, yeah I get it. I’ll try to keep all laugher inducing quips to a minimum.” You let out a groan, trying to settle back into a comfortable position in bed.

“How’d you know that?” Peter asked.

“I heard dad talking to the doctor in the hall. He said I had internal bleeding, three broken ribs, lacerations, blah, blah, blah. Have I really been out for four days?” You asked.

“Y/N you’ve been unconscious for a whole week. That conversation took place three days ago.” Peter said, giving you a quizzical look.

“No, it felt like just a few minutes ago. Dad was yelling at the doctor, and you were telling me I had to wake up. Because dad needed me and you needed-.” You began before Peter cut you off.

“You heard all of that?” Peter asked, worried.

You grabbed your head in pain as a few other strands of memories crept through. They were all black, you couldn’t see anything but you could hear.

_ Please help her, you’ve gotta do something!  _ Peter’s screams ran through your head.

_ Baby? Baby it’s me. You’re gonna be alright. You’re gonna be alright.  _ That one was your dad. You were moving, fast. Possibly on a gurney. 

_ You’re gonna pull through kid, you put up a good fight. You sure made your Uncle Rhodey proud.  _ Rhodey came to visit you?

_ Ms. Stark, I do wonder if you can hear me. Perhaps if you can you’d like to know that we all saw what you did at the gala. Your father would be proud if he wasn’t so worried. As the kids say, you truly ‘kicked ass’, if I might be so bold.  _ Vision, you chuckled at the thought.

_ Hey kid, I’m not supposed to be here but I had to check on ya. You really fucked shit up, I’m glad our training went to good use. You didn’t hear it from me, but Cap and Bucky send their love. You really scared us kid, you better get better or there will be hell to pay.  _ That one had to be Nat... but wasn’t she on the run, or wanted or whatever for double crossing? Don’t be stupid, she’s the greatest assassin in the world of course she could sneak in without being noticed. You were more shocked that Bucky even knew who you were, or cared for that matter. 

“You ok, Y/N?” Peter asked, placing a hand on your arm, now standing next to you, concern evident on his face. 

“Yeah, well no, but yeah, I just. I don’t know I guess I’m all turned around. Natasha was here? She said Bucky and Cap-” You began but stopped immediately when your father entered the room.

“You don’t have to worry about him anymore. Now, kid, could you give us a few minutes?” Tony asked, Peter nodded and left the room.

“Jesus Y/N, did you know how worried we all were?” Tony asked.

“I can imagine.” You answered, taking his hand in yours.

“I’m sorry you had to go through all this. It nearly killed me seeing you so beat up.” He said, taking a seat next to you.

“I couldn’t just sit there and watch it happen. I had to do something. You would have done the same thing dad and you know it.” You scolded.

“You could have died!” Tony yelled.

“Whoever did this, if they wanted me dead, I’d be dead. If they wanted to take me, they would have taken me. So either I wasn’t the target of this attack, or it was just to send a message. They had guns, they could have easily killed everyone there including me. But they didn't. They were sending a message. But I don’t know to who or why.” You said, boldly. 

“We’ll get them, whoever this was, but right now I need you to worry about getting better. That means no working, no lab, no-” Tony scolded.

“Dad, I’m not a child.” You rolled your eyes.

“But you are  _ my _ child.” He smirked. “I’m so glad you’re alright, I couldn’t bear to lose you too.” 

“I’m alright, dad, I promise. In the future I’ll leave the hero stuff to you.” You smiled.

“Good,” he kissed the top of your head, “Now get some rest. I’ll have the Spiderling say goodbye before sending him home for the night. He’s been by your side nearly everyday.”

You picked up the insinuation in his voice, electing to ignore it when Peter walking in the room.

“Looks like it's the end of visiting hours.” Peter smiled.

“Visiting hours? Do we really have those? We own this place shouldn’t we make the rules.” You asked.

“I was kidding.” Peter looked down to the ground.

“What was your ‘stupid question’ earlier?” You asked. 

“How the hell did you learn to fight like that?” Peter laughed.

“You’re right that is a stupid question. Mainly Natasha and Steve, they’d train me when they still lived in the tower.” You answered with a smile.

“Black Widow and Captain America, right, right, that’s normal.” Peter muttered, slightly starstruck.

“Nothing’s normal in our lives Peter, you should probably get used to that.” You smiled.

“There’s a learning curve I guess. I’ll let you get some rest Y/N, I’m really glad you’re ok.” Peter said nervously. 

“I don’t think I properly thanked you for having my back and saving me. So thank you.” You smiled.

“Anytime, but let’s try not to make a routine out of it.” Peter smirked.

“Sounds good to me Spidey, though we make a pretty good team.” You smiled, making sure not to laugh and cause anymore pain to your aching body.

“Yeah we do, don’t we. Bye Y/N.” Peter spoke, and you swore you saw a blush on his cheeks as he left the room.

“Bye Pete.” You whispered. 

  
  



	8. Incognito

A week had passed since your doctors finally released you to return to the tower. You thought this meant you’d finally get some freedom, but as far as your father was concerned, you were basically on house arrest. 

He wouldn’t even let you in the lab, he had Friday lock you out. You were about to go stir crazy. You begged him for days to let you out of the tower, and he finally gave in.

“You can’t keep me cooped up here forever, I’m fine, I’m healing. I promise I’ll partake in no strenuous activities.” You pleaded. You were ready to get onto your knees for your father to consider your request.

“Just coffee?” Tony raised an eyebrow at you. He was always going to be suspicious of you, he knew you well enough by now. 

“Just coffee and light shopping.” You swore, giving Tony your best rendition of puppy dog eyes for extra measure. 

“Fine, but you’re going incognito.” He pointed towards a pair of sunglasses and a hat on the table.

“Ha! Right, like a hat and sunglasses is ‘incognito’,” You began, but he gave you a warning look, “Fine, fine, incognito.”

You slipped the hat and sunglasses on to please him, and promised once more that you’d be safe.

“I love you, give your father a hug goodbye, I’ve got to go back upstate and I won’t be here when you get back.” Tony spoke and you wrapped your arms around him. You felt him press a gentle kiss to the top of your head. 

“I love you too.” You muttered, feeling a little guilty. 

You slipped out the front doors of the towers, ‘incognito’. Your father was right to be worried. Of course you had other plans than simply coffee and shopping.

Spending the whole week in bed with your laptop had given you some time to research the mayor and Danny Rand. Danny Rand had tried to tell you something before the gala, and now you needed to know what he knew. You’d been tracking his whereabouts all week, so you were pretty sure you’d know where he was going to be at this time. 

You found Danny near Rand Industries, as you’d suspected, and pulled him into the alley beside the building. You saw his stance change and something flash over his eyes. He was ready to attack, before you slipped your sunglasses off.

“God Y/N, I could have hurt you.” Danny sighed, taking a step back. You raised your eyebrow, you’ve fought bigger guys than him. Captain America trained you, and maybe Danny said some secret powers, but he didn’t really look like much.

“You were trying to warn me, at the gala.” You slipped your sunglasses on top of your hat, “Did you know what was going to happen?”

“I knew people were trying to get to the family. The mayor’s in deep. Deeper than mafia stuff. I think they’re dealing weapons, I’m not quite sure, but whatever it is it’s not good. I thought maybe they’d target you to hurt them.” Danny explained.

“Me? Why me?” You asked, crossing your arms over your chest. Bad idea with broken ribs. You winced and returned them to your side.

“You do wonders for their public image. Without you no one would really care about them, he’d just be another politician.” Danny explained. So they’d just been using you? For press and publicity?

“How did you know about the mayor?” You asked, changing the subject.

“Because I’m trying to take him down. Are you ok?” Danny asked, pointing to where you were absent mindedly clutching your aching side.

“I’m fine, just some broken ribs and a few other things. Nothing too bad.” You brushed it off like it was nothing. Like you hadn’t just been involved in an attack that could have easily killed you.

“Well it’s a good thing Spiderman showed up. I saw the news footage, it looked like... like you knew him. And you’re a pretty good fighter.” Danny implied.

“I’m the daughter of Iron Man, of course I know how to fight and defend myself.” You tried to change the subject. 

“And Spiderman?” He pressed.

“We all have our secrets, Danny.” You sighed, “Do what you have to do concerning the mayor, no one else needs to get hurt because of what he’s doing. Let me know if you need anything, tech, or otherwise. You know where to find me.” You offered to him. 

“Thanks for the offer. Get better, and cut all ties with the mayor.” He warned.

“Oh don’t worry, I did. I should get back to the tower before they realize I haven’t just gone out for coffee.” You patted his arm as you turned out of the alley and back onto the street. 

The sun began to set as you journeyed back towards the tower. Your mind was racing thinking about whatever these weapons were the mayor was involved with. A red blur landed in front of you, causing you to jump and place your hand over your heart.

“Excuse me ma’am, mind if I escort you home? It’s getting dark out.” The recognizable voice of Peter Parker spoke from behind the mask you painstakingly designed. 

“You almost gave me a heart attack.” You breathed out, pulling him into the alley next to you, “Someone could see us.” You warned.

“Here, hold onto me.” Peter spoke, motioning you forward. You carefully wrapped your arms around him, and before you knew it you were flying through the air. Peter had shot a few webs and gotten the two of you up on the roof of the building you were hiding behind.

“What are you doing out? I thought you were under house arrest or something.” Peter asked, the worry was evident in his voice.

“I have my ways, Parker.” You smirked.

“That’s shady.” Peter joked, you tried not to laugh, knowing what it would do to your ribs. 

“You’re one to talk,” You quipped. 

“What were you up to?” He asked suspiciously.

“Shopping.” You lied. 

“I don’t see any shopping bags. I also didn’t know they had stores in the alley next to Rand Industries.” Peter teased.

“Did my father tell you to follow me?” You asked, slightly agitated that he didn’t trust you, but then you remembered that you were indeed lying to him. But he never had to know that.

“Maybe. I was just watching out for you. What were you doing with Danny Rand?” Peter questioned.

“Can we talk about that later?” You asked, the whole ordeal had tired you out, but the thing that got you the most was that you didn’t have answers. You didn’t know why someone would try to kill the mayor, what he was dealing in, and how much at risk that put you.

“Oh uh yeah sorry. Do you want me to swing you home? It’s just a couple rooftops to the tower.” Peter offered and you nodded, latching onto him once more. He swung in and out of buildings, you had your eyes closed most of the time. Mostly because all of the sudden movements were making you nauseous.

Peter placed you gently down on the ground next to the Stark Tower, he was still hanging from his web. You didn’t know how he didn’t get dizzy or anything, swinging, spinning around, hanging upside down. 

“Do you want to come up? Dad’s upstate so it’s just me.” You offered.

“Sure sure.” He nodded, you could tell he had a goofy grin underneath that mask.

“Meet me on that balcony, that’s my room, I’ll let you in.” You raised your arm to point to the ledge in question, trying to ignore the pain that shot up your side. “You probably don’t want to walk through the lobby like this.” You placed a hand on his suit.

“I guess you’re right,” Peter laughed, “I’ll see you up there.”

You made your way around to the front of the tower and through the front door. The security guards greeted you, and no doubt were about to update Happy about your return. You entered the elevator and pressed the number for your floor. 

You slipped off your hat and sunglasses and placed them on your kitchen island as you passed it, making your way towards your bedroom. Once there, you drew back your curtains slightly to expose the door to the balcony. 

As you slipped out into the brisk night air as you saw Peter sitting on the ledge of your balcony, facing the sunset. 

“Best view in the city if you ask me.” You say, joining him and admiring the view. 

“It’s not bad.” Peter joked, as you slid to sit next to him, turning your body as to keep one leg inside the balcony. You knew Peter would never let you fall, but you really didn’t want the situation to come up. 

The two of you sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes watching the sun disappear from view. 

“It’s getting cold Pete, we should probably go inside.” you spoke, rubbing your exposed arms. He nodded, silently cursing himself for forgetting he regulated body heat differently than you, ever since he was bitten at least.

Peter followed you inside of your bedroom, and he took a few seconds to look around. After you had closed the door and the curtain, he slipped off his mask. You moved to stand in front of your full length mirror, lifting your shirt slightly to fidget with your bandages.

Peter was still taking in all of your room: it was like a suite at a hotel. Everything matched the color scheme of your kitchen and living room. Very modern, white, clean, and sophisticated, with the occasional pop of color. Your large king sized bed sat upon a slightly raised platform, opposite it hung a tv nearly the size of the one in the living room. He turned to see your desk, large computer, and papers everywhere. This seemed to be the one disorganized place in your whole living area. Peter got a glimpse of the bathroom, with its marble and what appeared to be a rain shower no doubt. He then panned to the last part of the room, consisting of a large mirror leaning in the corner of the room where the walls met. 

His eyes were met with you, fidgeting with your bandages in front of it. Pushing the thought of your exposed skin to the back of his mind, he rushed to help you.

“What’s wrong?” He asked quietly.

“It just hurts.” You whined. “I don’t know if it’s too tight or-.”

“Maybe it needs to be readjusted.” Peter suggested, “Here, let me help.”

You looked at Peter for a moment with apprehension. You realized he was probably used to this and more experienced than you were with tending to his injuries after a long night of crime fighting. You searched his face for anything like an ulterior motive, but only saw his genuine concern and want to help. You only saw him, Peter Parker.

You nodded and slipped off your tank top, he then began to unravel the bandage around your ribs and chest. You felt your heart beating slightly faster than normal and hoped he wouldn’t notice. 

The more he unraveled the more he saw the large black and purple bruise from where the butt of the gun hit you.

“Holy shit, Y/N, I didn’t know it was this bad.” Peter nearly yelled, stepping back to take it all in.

“It’s fine its just a bruise-” You began to speak as he ran his fingers over it softly, you winced slightly cutting off the end of your sentence. Peter noticed how his touch left little goosebumps in his wake, he pushed that thought to the back of his mind, trying to refocus on the task at hand. He took one last look at your large bruise, hating that he could have saved you from this pain if he had been a little faster. 

“I’m gonna rewrap it for you ok? Let me know if it’s too tight.” Peter’s voice broke the silence, as you watched his face, desperately wanting to know what was going on inside his mind. 

“Ok.” You tried to say, but it came out barely above a whisper. You held the piece that was over your breast covering you. He began to wrap it gently around you, but tight enough to still serve its purpose. 

“Is that better?” He asked, you nodded in response. You had noticed Peter looking at your clock a few times. 

“You have patrols soon don’t you?” You asked, reading his body language.

“Yeah but-” Peter admitted, and tried to explain but you cut him off. 

“You should go, I know you’ll worry if you don’t.” You smiled lightly.

“I know you’re right, but I want to make sure you’re ok first.” Peter said. You were surprised how easily it seemed he would stay with you instead of going out and being Spider-Man. You never wanted to keep him from that.

“I’ll manage. But... if it’s not too much to ask, could you maybe, come back when you’re done?” You asked nervously. Why were you so nervous? It was just Peter. That’s right, just Peter. 

“It will be late but if you want me to I will.” Peter answered quickly. 

“I mean, if you’re nearby, I uh- I just haven’t been sleeping, with the pain meds they’ve got me on, and everything else going on and I-, I slept really really well when you were here so I thought maybe. Ya know if I can finally sleep that would be great and if it’s gonna be another sleepless night then at least I’ll have someone to talk to.” You found yourself rambling, now standing in front of Peter, with no shirt on with only your bandage like corset to cover your top half. You must look crazy right now. But the way Peter was looking at you was if he hadn’t even noticed, he looked at you as if you were standing before him in a ball gown. 

“I get it, I’ll be here, I promise.” Peter smiled, before he said goodbye, slipped on his mask and headed back outside onto your balcony. 

It was maybe 2:30 when  you heard a soft tapping on your glass. You stood from your bed, clicked off the TV,  and let him in with a smile.

“Hi, how’d it go?”  You smiled, as you locked up the door behind him. 

“Good, slow night.” He slipped off his mask before replying. 

“I guess the criminal classes enjoy a Friday night off every once in a while.” You joked.

“Seems to be the case,” Peter smiled before asking, “Hey, um, if it’s not too much to ask,  would I be able to shower really quick? It’s just, your room is so nice and clean and smells amazing, and I’ve been on patrol for 6 hours.” 

“Oh, of course, of course.” You stuttered, what was wrong with you? You tried to compose yourself while pointing him toward the bathroom, “Everything’s in there, and I can go find you some clothes.”

Peter thanked you before slipping into the bathroom and shutting the door. 

You journeyed to the floor above you, stepping into the deafening quiet of what used to be such a lively and joyous space. You could still picture Natasha flirting with Steve  in the kitchen, Bruce hiding in the corner trying to get some peace and quiet before retreating to the lab, wow have things changed. 

You entered the first door on the right, stepping into the bare room. You found a bed  that hadn’t been slept in in years, the walls were devoid of any decorations. You pulled open the dresser drawer, thankfully finding some old clothes that were left behind in case their owner needed to return  for a few nights.

You grabbed one of Cap’s old dri-fit shirts and some sweatpants. Thank god he wears his clothes super tight, you thought jumping back in the elevator to your floor. When you entered your room Peter walked out of your bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist.

Your jaw almost dropped, but you composed yourself. Jesus, you knew Peter was strong, he was Spider-Man, but boy oh boy you did not expect him to be that... well, swole.

“I um found these, I hope they fit, they were Steve’s.” You finally spoke, hoping he didn’t see you almost drooling.

“Steve?” Peter asked, graciously taking them.

“Rogers.” You answered.

“Oh my god these are Captain America's clothes?” Peter asked, beginning to fangirl- ah there’s the little nerd you know and love. Wait- love? You thought, that was an odd development.

“Yeah I mean they shouldn’t be too big on you he likes to wear his clothes super tight.” You joked, kind of dying on the inside though because Peter was still standing in front of you like  _ that _ .

“They're great Y/N. Thanks, I’m just gonna go change.” He pointed back towards the bathroom.

“Sure, sure.” You nod. 

When Peter comes back out, you’re sitting on your bed, with the TV back on. You were trying to calm yourself from what you had just seen. It really didn’t help that Peter came back out with that  shirt clinging to his arms. God help you.

You patted the bed next to you and he launched up and landed next to you, making you laugh. 

“God this is like a cloud.” Peter joked, jumping next to you. You rolled back laughing at this little dork before you, wearing Captain America’s clothes. 

“I didn’t know you were 5 Peter Parker.” You teased.

“Hey- I’m 17 almost 18 thank you very much.” He returned. 

“Im shocked.” You joked, as he plopped down next to you. 

“So... how’s school going?” You asked, Peter replied with a groan and laying back with his arms under his head.

“What does that mean?” You asked with a laugh.

“It’s just- there’s this party Ned and I were invited to tomorrow,  and uh Ned kind of let slip in gym class that I know Spider-Man and they want me to bring him.  So now I don’t know what to do. If I don’t go they’ll think I was lying, but if I show up without him it will be even worse. Spiderman isn’t  a party trick, I don’t know what to do Y/N.” Peter ranted to you.

“You could bring me.” You suggested. 

“What?” Peter shot up, and starred at you like you’d just grown a second head.

“If these kids think you’ve never even met my dad, once they see you with me they’ll know you’re for real. I can be your hype man! We can just say Spider-Man was busy.” You explained.

“I don’t want to use you like some kind of arm candy? What would you even get out of this?” Peter asked, moving back until his back was against your headboard.

“Well I would get to go to a high school party. That would be a first for me, considering I was like 10 when I was in high school.” You smirked.

“Are you sure? You can back out anytime.” Peter said.

“It will be fine Pete. You deserve a night off anyway.” You smiled genuinely.

“Maybe you're right.” Peter smiled, hanging his head before shooting it back up and pointing to your ribs, “Are you feeling any better?”

“I took some more pain meds, I should be fine.” You shrugged, “I think some sleep would do me good but I don't know if that’s gonna happen.”

“I think I can help with that.” Peter smirked.

“Oh yeah? And how’s that?” You laughed.

“Just trust me, come here.” He motioned you towards him. 

“Just relax.” He said, his voice getting quieter as you laid into his side. 

Peter began to run his fingers through your hair, gently playing with it. It was the most relaxing thing you’d ever felt in your life, no five star spa could match the delicate fimble fingers currently guiding their way through your locks. You could  die right here and now and be happy. 

Peter wasn’t surprised when he heard your breathing become shallow and consistent, he knew you had drifted off to sleep. After a few minutes he quietly asked Friday to turn off the lights and TV, all the while continuing to rub soothing shapes on your back. You looked so peaceful as he admired your natural beauty, soon he too found himself succumbing to the wave of sleep drifting over him. 

  
  



	9. You Were Right

You began to stir, your whole body engulfed in warmth. You heard soft snores next to you and opened your eyes slowly. Lying next to you, with his arms innocently draped around you, was none other than Peter Parker. All you wanted to do was nuzzle your head back into his chest and fall asleep to the sound of his heartbeat. As you sleepily inched closer to him, a loud knock shook your room.

“Y/N, it’s me.” You heard from the other side of the door. Happy.

Peter shot up in bed, you both stared at each other wide eyed. You felt your heart begin to race. You untangled yourself from Peter and jumped out of bed. He almost began to speak, but you placed your hand over his mouth, placing another finger over your lip to shush him, and shoved him into the bathroom. You closed the door as quietly as you could, and made your way to Happy.

“Hey Happy.” You pulled the door open and spoke in a sleepy tone.

“Were you asleep?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Uh... yeah?” You stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Hm. That’s new.” Happy looked surprised, nearly everyone in the tower knew you haven’t been sleeping for a while. You’d roam the halls at night, work in the lab, train in the gym, anything to keep your mind off of the circumstances that plagued your reality. 

“Anyway, the movers are coming Monday morning to get your furniture and deliver it to your apartment. I’ll have someone leave some boxes for you to pack up the rest of your things. This is a hard deadline kid, you gonna be ready?” Happy asked. You could tell that he was stressed about this whole moving thing. You knew for a fact that closing was about a month away, but he probably wanted to get you out of his hair. One less thing to stress about. 

“Yeah, it’ll be fine Hap, don’t worry.” You reassured him.

“Monday.” He repeated with a stern look.

“Monday.” You confirmed, nodding.

“And label the boxes you want going to your room upstate.” He reminded you.

“You got it.” You nodded again.

“The labs being packed up today so no tinkering.” He pointed his finger at you.

“This is a tinkering free zone, don’t worry.” You raised your hands in surrender.

“Alright.” Happy nodded, then suspiciously peaked his head inside your room, but didn’t seem to find anything.

“Bye Happy.” You smiled, he shot back a glare but you knew he secretly loved you, he was just stressed that’s all.

One he left you closed the door and leaned against it with a sigh. Peter snuck back out of the bathroom carefully. 

“That was a close call.” He spoke.

“Just be glad it wasn’t Pepper. She would have sniffed you out in a heartbeat.” You smiled.

“I don’t doubt it... so moving huh? It’s finally here.” Peter said, as you moved to sit at the edge of your bed.

“Yeah, we finalized on the apartment last week. It feels so weird, this place has been my home for so long now.” You looked around the room longingly, there were so many memories in this place.

“Have you always lived here?” Peter asked, moving to sit next to you.

“Well no, I- well I didn’t live with my dad until I was about 5 or so. I was a happy little accident, I’m pretty sure my mom was just a one night stand. Tony took me in after she died and he found out. I lived in Malibu with him for a few years, well Pepper really raised me at that point because he was a little, ya know, he was Tony, he’s changed and grown a lot. Um, then I came to a boarding school here in New York when I was 8 or so, until MIT. So of and on for 10 years?” You spoke, looking down at your hands. You didn’t like talking about your mother, considering you knew almost nothing about her.

“I never knew that. No one ever talks about your background.” Peter spoke softly, he could tell it was a sensitive subject for you, and reached out to reassuringly take your hand. 

“No one really knows. We try to keep it as private as we can. That’s nearly impossible these days, everything I say and do gets blasted across page 6.” You groaned, even things you don’t do blow up on the internet. If you had a dollar for every rumor that was spread about you, you’d almost be as rich as your father. 

“I don’t know how you do it. I never could.” Peter smiled.

“Perks of being a Stark I guess. Comes with the territory.” You shrugged. There was only so much you could do about it, most of the time you simply ignore it. 

“Speaking of territory, not that I’m trying to kick you out, but don’t you normally do rounds at this time. Not that I track you or anything, I’m just sure Queens can’t possibly function without you.” You laughed nervously, which was out of character for you. You tried to gain some semblance of the confident front you usually portray.

“Let me guess, the suit has a tracker in it too?” Peter laughed.

“All the suits do, you’re not special Spidey.” You smirked.

“Ouch, I’m hurt. But also you’re right, I am late. I’ll send you the address for the party tonight. May can probably drive if you want?” Peter suggested, grabbing his suit.

“I’ll probably hire a car, I can snag you and Ned on the way if that’s easier?” You offered, you didn’t want May to have to drive all the way downtown for you.

“That works, I’ll see you tonight then.” Peter smiled sweetly, and after slipping into his suit, he exited from the balcony once more.

You spent the rest of the day packing up your room, mainly your closet. That also gave you time to think about what you would wear tonight. What do people wear to a highschool party? This is new territory for you. You can do galas, socials, balls, talk shows, press releases, but highschool? This shouldn’t be that hard. You get a call that your driver will be arriving in about 30 minutes, so you know you have to act fast.

You decide to leave your hair natural and put on a bit of makeup. Nothing extreme, mascara and highlighter to give you a natural glow. You slipped into some jeans, a simple red top and some wedges. You weren’t sure why you were so nervous. You’ve been to the met gala for christ’s sake, this should be nothing compared to that, yet here you are. 

As you pick up Peter and Ned, your nerves begin to calm. You feel comfortable around them.

Your driver drops the three of you off at the party, which was much farther into the suburbs than you expected. But wow the house was beautiful. And huge, which means something coming from you. Whatever this kid’s parents do, they’re doing a very good job.

Before you walked inside, your phone began to ring as the name of your publicist showed across the screen. Peter and Ned turned back to you, and Peter raised an eyebrow.

“Go ahead in, I’ll meet you in there.” You smiled. Raising the phone to your ear. 

“Hello?” You asked curiously.

“Ms. Stark, the New York Post is wanting a comment from you regarding the-.” Your publicist spoke in a very professional tone before you cut her off.

“Linda, it’s almost 10:00 at night. Whatever it is, I’m sure it can wait until the morning. Goodnight.” You told her, sternly, but you should have listened.

“Yes, Ms. Stark.” She replied with a nervous tone before you ended the call.

As you entered the house, you heard yelling and laughter coming from the DJ stand and a beautiful girl walking away from Peter and Ned.

“Penis Parker, what’s up? Where’s your pal Spider-Man? Let me guess: in Canada with your imaginary girlfriend? That’s not Spider-Man, that’s just Ned in a red shirt.” The guy, who you could only assume to be Flash from what you’ve heard about Peter’s friends, taunted him.

You walked up to Peter, smiled and placed a hand on his arm, apologizing for the phone call.

“Holy shit is that Y/N Stark?” Flash speaks over the microphone and everyone turns around to face you. You smile back, and hear people start to whisper in awe. You gave Peter a look that said ‘I told you so’ and a wink.

“Well, well, well. You might not be Spider-Man, but I’m sure glad you’re here.” Flash left his DJ stand and made his way over to you, Peter, and Ned. He smirked as he attempted to flirt with you.

“You must be Flash.” You smiled, though he’d never know it wasn’t meant as a compliment.

“So you’ve heard of me?” His smirk grows even wider, “What brings a Stark here?”

“Well, my good friend Spider-Man was telling me about this party Peter invited him to, and he was just so crushed he wasn’t going to make it. So I agreed to fill in for the night.” You lied, and Flash was eating it up.

“Seems like a win for everyone. Well Parker, I didn’t know you had it in you. Showing up with Spider-Man’s girlfriend, you’ll be the talk of the town come Monday.” Flash patted Peter on the back, and your eyes went wide as you processed what he just said.

“I’m sorry, did you just say girlfriend?” You put on a brave face, but internally you were freaking out. 

“You haven’t heard? Well I’m sure you had a very busy night.” Flash stated, with a wink that was clearly trying to imply something.

“Heard what?” You asked, trying to play dumb but you had a feeling of what was coming.

“See for yourself,” Flash handed you his phone open to the tabloid article, with a picture from last night of you and Peter, in the suit, sitting on your balcony edge. The sun set behind you, and you were looking at him as if you were the only two people on Earth, or in the universe for that matter. The picture was such high quality, it must have been taken from somewhere nearby. One of the other skyscrapers, probably the Empire State building next door.

The headline read: Stark’s Sunset Sexcapade with Spider-Man. 

“When was this posted?” You asked, panic setting in. This is what your publicist was calling about.

“About an hour or so ago?” Flash shrugged and you handed him back his phone. In your pocket, your own phone began to buzz repeatedly, and you knew that meant a string of texts from your father. That could only be about one thing.

“Could you excuse me for a minute?” You rushed off down the hall, Peter could sense your fear, anger, whatever it was, and followed you. You slipped into an empty room, beginning to read the texts, as Peter entered the room behind you.

 

**Tony Stark:** Got something you wanna tell me?

**Tony Stark:** Normally I ignore these sort of stories and rumors, but that picture looks pretty real.

**Tony Stark:** Should I have Friday check the security cameras?

**Y/N Stark:** I’m sure you have more pressing matters to tend to at the moment

 

“Are you ok?” Peter asked timidly.

“No I’m not ok! You saw the article, do you understand what this means?” You shouted back, a little louder than you should have.

“It means people think you’re dating Spider-Man.” He stated simply.

“Ya know for a genius, you’re pretty dumb.” You shot back.

“I don’t see how this could be a bad thing? Is it really that horrible to imagine us together?” Peter asked gently.

“Yes!” You yelled, and Peter immediately looked hurt, “I mean no, but- It’s not you Peter, it’s Spider-Man. And you’ve just given yourself a weakness.” You tried to explain.

“What?” He shook his head in disbelief.

“Before, no one had a clue who you were. Now they can connect you to me. Meaning if they want to get to you, they’re going to use me. Or if they want to get to me, they’ll use you.” You broke it down for him, as your phone buzzed again. 

 

**Tony Stark:** This is a pressing matter, and you know I can’t allow this.

**Y/N Stark:** Funny, I don’t remember asking for permission or having any reason to need to. Nothing happened, pressing matter solved.

 

You quickly turned off your phone before you could see a reply.

“Y/N, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for this to happen.” Peter swore. You looked up to him and your demeanor changed. You shouldn’t be taking this out on him, you should have been more careful.

“It’s not your fault. I’ve had a target on my back since I was a kid. To date no one has succeeded in kidnapping me.” You tried to cheer him up, though you were doing a shitty job.

“What are you going to do now?” Peter asked curiously, but also cautiously. He knew it was never a good idea to piss off a Stark.

“There’s nothing I can do, so I’m going to get very drunk and forget it happened.” You stated simply, and exited the room, returning to the party. You didn’t see the crushed look on Peter’s face, thinking you wanted to forget about last night.

And you did exactly what you said you would do: get very drunk. 

You didn’t see Peter for the rest of the party, and you wondered where he’d snuck off to. You hoped he wasn’t mad at you for yelling at him, though he’d have every right to be. You finally stumbled upon Ned and attempted to ask him if he’d seen Peter. In your drunken state it came out as more of a mumble littered between laughter. He knew you were in pretty deep, and while taking care of a drunk Stark would probably be the highlight of his life, he didn’t want this responsibility to fall on him.

“Peter? It’s Y/n, she’s, well, listen for yourself.” Ned had gotten Peter on the phone, after helping you to the spare bedroom you were in before.

“Peter?? Is that you?” You giggled into the phone as you plopped on the bed, “Hiiii I miss you, where’d you go?” You now wore the expression of a sad puppy, which, if he were where to see it, Peter would have thought adorable. 

“I’m sorry, I’m on my way back.” Peter reassured you.

“This party was amazing! Everyone is soooo nice. I wonder why?” You asked innocently, hanging off the bed.

“Probably because you’re a billionaire.” Peter laughed, at your state, as he walked back through the door to the house.

“Ooooh for the clout, gotcha gotcha, cool cool cool cool.” You replied, your drunken state now turning sleepy, just as Peter walked into the bedroom and Ned stood to leave.

“Peter, as awesome as this has been, it’s your turn to deal with the drunk celebrity.” Ned took his phone out of your hands and made his way towards the door.

“Byeeeeee Ned.” You smiled and shot him some finger guns. He shot some back, and raised an eyebrow to Peter before leaving.

“How are you feeling?” Peter asked, moving to sit onto the bed you’re now sprawled across.

“Iiii feel great. I mean, there’s the whole ‘my dad’s probably gonna kill me’ thing, but like besides that, I’m good.” You attempted to sit up, falling back down, and having Peter assist and hold you up.

“I’m sure it will be fine. Nothing happened, I was just helping out a friend in need.” He tried to convince himself that that’s all it was.

“Right. Friend. Cool.” You mumbled, Peter raised an eyebrow but didn’t press any further, “Oh, that Liz chick totally likes you by the way.”

“What? Liz?” Peter asked, and it almost seemed like a bit of excitement in his voice, or maybe it was just surprise.

“Mhm, you must have some special effect on older girls.” You rolled your eyes.

“What does that mean?” Peter asked, but he knew.

“Nothing.” You turned away from him, jealousy sobering you up quickly.

“Doesn’t seem like nothing.” Peter smiled, he was going there. You simply shrugged and crossed your arms.

“You’re cute when you’re jealous.” Peter spoke, and you whipped around to face him.

“Excuse me, Mr., I am not jealous, ok, I’m perfectly fine.” You nearly fell off the bed, Peter caught you and helped you upright.

“Admit it, you’re jealous.” Peter smirked.

“Am not.” You argued.

“Are too.” He held his smirk.

“Am not.” You laughed and playfully pushed him. Your hands still pressed against his shirt, you paused, weighing your options, glancing at his lips. You leaned in slowly,and pressed your lips to his. He kissed you back for a moment before stopping you.

“Y/N, you’re drunk. It wouldn’t be right.” Peter spoke, his voice barely over a whisper.

“I’m sorry.” You said, just as quietly, pulling away even farther from him.

“I don’t want you to do something you’d regret.” Peter explained, and you knew he was doing the right thing.

“Probably a good idea.” You stated monotonically, thinking you’d just gotten shot down, your drunk mind not entirely understanding the situation.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t want to though-” Peter began, and you plopped back straight onto the bed with a sigh.

“I don’t wanna date Spider-Man.” You said after a few moments of silence, no doubt you had had a whole conversation in your head between then and this was the next logical thought coming to the surface. 

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?” Peter asked, internally laughing at your drunken state.

“There’s this kid. He’s from Queens.” You explained.

“Must be a lucky guy.” Peter smirked.

“You got that right.” You retorted, causing Peter to laugh and stand up from the bed with arms outstretched.

“Come on, let’s get you home.” Peter helped you to your feet.

“Where’d you run off to tonight?” You asked, as he began to gather your things.

“Oh, you know, the usual. Fought some bad guys, got dropped in a lake by some weird bird man, almost drowned.” He stated casually.

“You WHAT.” You nearly shouted at him.

“Yeah, your dad kinda bailed me out.” He explained, scratching the back of his neck.

“My dad?” You furrowed your brows, wasn’t he out of the country?

“Well one of his suits.” Peter explained, handing you your jacket and helping you put it on.

“Do you not know how to swim?” You teased.

“Well, uh, you know the bird man kinda brought me pretty far up... so my parachute deployed and it got kinda tangled up and-” Peter explained slowly.

“Omg I could have killed you. This is my fault Peter I’m sorry. I should have programed the parachute to deploy at your command not automatically I-” You whipped around to face him, grabbing onto his arms and rambling.

“Hey hey, its ok, I’m ok, it’s not your fault.” Peter reassured you, hugging you to calm you down.

“I couldn’t live with myself if I lost you.” You muttered into his chest. Peter smiled sadly, wanting to promise he’d never leave, but knowing his line of work, stayed silent and comforted you instead.

Peter got you into the car, thankful the driver wasn’t Happy. Almost immediately you fell asleep on his shoulder. 

When you arrived back at the tower, Peter helped you back up to your room. You were so sleepy he thought he might have to carry you. You made it into the elevator, but on the long ride up about 90 floors, you began to nod off again. Peter let you sleep, and scooped you into his arms effortlessly. He could hear your soft, slow breaths, and almost cringed as the elevator dinged so loudly as it arrived at your floor, hoping it wouldn’t wake you.

He carried you into your room, and placed you gently into bed. As he began to tuck you in and pull the covers over you, you began to stir.

“You were right.” You mutter softly, looking up to Peter with a gentle smile before closing your eyes again and nuzzling into the pillow.

“About?” He asked quietly.

“I could have, possibly, a little bit, I mean there’s a chance that-” You spoke slowly, drawing out your sleepy words in an attempt to avoid the subject.

“Y/N.” Peter spoke your name so softly.

“I was jealous.” You admitted, before falling back asleep.

A smile spread across Peter’s face, as he finished tucking you in and making sure you’re ok. He grabbed a glass of water and sat it on your nightstand for when you wake up. Before leaving, he took one last look at you, laying so peacefully. He gently brushed the hair out of your face and placed a soft kiss on your forehead. 

“Your father is going to kill me.” He muttered and sighed softly, realizing he was in too deep now. 

  
  



	10. Worth the Risk

The moment you woke up you knew: today would not be a good day. Your head was pounding, it was as if you had a pulse vibrating from ear to ear. You threw the covers off of yourself and sat up, your legs dangling over the side of the bed. You held your head in your hands for a moment before glancing to your bedside table, where you noticed a glass of water and pain meds that you certainly didn’t put there.

You were immediately struck with a wave of embarrassment. You didn’t expect to get that drunk, and you hated feeling like a burden. You felt horrible that Peter had to go so far out of his way to get you home and into bed.

It wasn’t until you were pulling the coffee pot out of its metal entrapment that you remembered.

_I kissed Peter... and confessed that I liked him._

Your face went flush, all you could think about was how your father would kill you and Peter if he ever found out. Yesterday’s article already has him suspicious.

You felt trapped, you were running through your mind what you would even say. Surely after your brief texts last night he’d want to continue the conversation. Before, you could be honest when you said nothing happened, now... not so much. You didn’t want to lie to your father, or yourself. Slowly more and more memories came back to you from the party and you began to feel a pressure in your chest. You weren’t sure if it was just embarrassment, or anxiety for what was to come, or a combination of the two. You needed to get out of the tower, that was all you knew, you needed to escape and take some time to sort everything out.

That’s how you ended up two hours later at the compound upstate. You weren’t sure yet if you wanted to forget about everything that happened, or to fixate on every detail and relive it.

You hadn’t even been sitting on the balcony of your room for 30 minutes when you heard a jet landing. Surely your father wasn’t back a week early?

You slowly made your way out onto the tarmac, greeting a few Stark employees on your way. Your feet hit the dark pavement and you waited, wrapping your arms comfortingly around yourself wondering what you would even say to your father. You had no idea.

The jet door fell open as your father began his descent down the stairs and it hit you. All your emotions at once: guilt, embarrassment, heartache, all of it. As Tony’s eyes landed on you, he raised an eyebrow in confusion before shifting into parent mode.

“Young lady we got a lot to talk about-” Tony began to scold you as he stepped of the plane, an authoritative finger pointed at you. He was cut of by you throwing yourself into his arms, wrapping your own around him, breath shaking as you began to cry.

Tony was confused and stood frozen for a moment before enveloping you in his arms and rubbing soothing circles onto your back.

“Baby, what happened?” Tony asked, worried.

You unburied your head from his chest and looked up at him. He saw your tears, your expression, and your inability to articulate what was wrong. It was as if you couldn’t form the words. Your lips parted to speak but you just shook your head.

“You gotta talk to me, kid, I can’t read your mind.” Tony spoke softly.

“I- I fucked up.” You confessed, and he raised a brow in response.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

An hour later you found yourself sitting in a conference room with Tony and your publicist, Linda. You’d told Tony everything... well, nearly everything. You’d left out some of the intimate details, but he got the gist. You’d agreed on one thing: no more secrets. He wasn’t mad, per se, sure he felt betrayed but at the end of the day he understood. Young love wasn’t a mystery to him, even though most of his younger days were spent as a playboy.

Tony wanted you to be happy, as all fathers would. But he also recognized the conflict of interest. He was the figurehead of the Avengers. You couldn’t be dating someone who is practically a member of the team, especially one with his identity still a secret. That was another thing you had agreed on: for both of your safeties, you couldn’t be together.

Now this agreement was met with tears... lots of them. You knew you’d be putting Peter at risk, and you’d be sneaking around. You were tired of sneaking around. You wanted to love someone and let the whole world know. You wanted to be happy with no buts. You were tired of buts.

I want to be with you... but we can’t tell your father.

You’re brilliant... but you’re too young.

You’re a Stark... but you’re not Tony.

So you vowed, from that day forward, to never lie to those that you loved unless absolutely necessary. No more secrets. You’d made a promise. You’d also made a mess of things and had a press nightmare that needed to be dealt with.

That’s where Linda came in. She’s been your families publicist for years. And you had rudely hung up on her at the party. Maybe if you had listened and never went to that stupid party none of this would have happened. Of course, that picture of you and Spider-Man would still have been circulating New York faster than one of your jet engines.

Linda had a plan. She didn’t know that you actually knew Spider-Man and that the article was true. She just thought you didn’t want the bad publicity, and to be linked to a ‘vigilante’, especially with everything going on with the Accords.

In reality you didn’t care about protecting yourself from this backlash, you cared about protecting Peter. If the public thinks you’re dating, the bad guys will think that too. Starks have enough enemies and you didn’t want to put him in the line of fire, no matter what your heart wants. You had to change their minds... whatever it takes. Linda had a plan... but so did you, though you knew your father would hate it.

Linda’s plan was, well, going to be fucking exhausting for you. For years you’d denied any and every interviewer that came your way. You had always hated the idea. You were an electrical engineer, not some media plaything. But you knew that if you wanted to have any control over the public’s image of you, and to keep Peter safe, this was the price. You would do all of the shitty interviews you detested for years: Vogue, Vanity Fair, Cosmopolitan, you get the point. You’d play their game, steer the conversation.

“Are you sure this will work?” Tony questioned, knowing you were very vocal about never doing interviews. They didn’t care about what you had to say or your brain, they cared about how you look and your last name.

“It would have about a 75% success rate. We can’t delete the article, we can’t make people forget, but we can change the subject. I think we would have even better results if there was something equally as big that you were moving that subject too.” Linda explained.

“And it won’t look suspicious that I’ve never accepted an interview in my life, and now after this picture comes out I’m on everyone’s screens?” You asked, skeptically.

“With the right cover you should be fine. I was thinking you could be promoting the philanthropy work of Stark Industries.” Linda suggested.

“What if we were announcing some type of new grant or scholarship program? Promoting kids in the STEM field, open for anyone to apply? We could be offering a few internship positions or a chance to meet Tony, something interactive, worthy of an announcement.” You spit-balled.

“A real Stark Internship program.” Tony nodded. You both knew that was Peter’s cover when he went to Berlin, so why not make it a real thing? It had also been something you were thinking about, despite the unfortunate circumstances it had been brought up in.

“It’s perfect, we can even have you doing some of the interviewing, so there’s another incentive.” Linda beamed.

“Great, how fun.” You rolled your eyes, Tony gave you a warning look as if to say _‘You don’t get to be picky, we’re trying to fix_ your _mess here’._

“I think this will work perfectly. I’ve got some friends at NBC so I bet I can get you on within the next week. We need to start big, maybe late night, and work our way out. I’m thinking YouTube, I’m thinking morning talk shows, you’re gonna be a household name by the end of the month.” Linda stood, excited, and rushed off to get to work.

You put your head down onto the cold conference table and sighed. Tony rolled his chair towards you and began to rub your back.

“You’re doing the right thing here kid.” Tony spoke softly.

“Doesn’t feel like it. What will I even say to him?” You looked up to him, eyes prickling as tears threatened to spill.

“The truth never hurt.” Tony suggested. Since when did he get so grown up and mature?

“Then why do I feel like my heart has been ripped out of my chest?” You groaned, laying back onto the table, your head hitting it with a thud.

“Hey, I’m supposed to be the dramatic one here, right? You had a crush, he’s a good kid I get it, but you’ll get over it. Right?” Tony said, as if it was going to be that easy.

“Mhmm.” You let out a mumble of agreement, but something told you it was never going to be that simple. It never was when it came to you and Peter, you would always have unfinished business.

“Alright, come on I got something that will cheer you up.” Tony helped you to your feet and took your hands into his, “Close your eyes”.

He led you from the room, and judging by the proximity and number of turns, you had surmised that he led you into the lab.

“Are you ready?” Tony asked, you simply nodded, “Ok open ‘em.”

Your eyes shot open and grew wide. Anyone else would have seen a triangular hunk of metal sitting on a table.

“Oh my god, did you finish it?” You lifted it gently from the table and began to analyze it.

“Mm, it’s a little finicky, needs your magic touch kiddo. Have fun.” Tony patted your back and left you to work. He knew that was exactly what you needed to get your mind of everything. You needed to tinker, you needed to create, to think and use your mind, and most certainly not think about Peter Parker.

You had been so concentrated on your work that you didn’t notice a figure drifting through the door.

“Ms. Stark, I had not expected to see you here at the Compound.” You recognized the voice immediately, one that had guided you your whole life, and yet now he was, well, a ‘he’.

“Vision! You scared me.” You laughed.

“My apologies.” He smiled, assessing your work. “Working on something new?”

“It’s just a housing unit for nanoparticles. One day one of these will replace all of Tony’s clunky old suits.” You smiled.

“Well if anyone can do it, it’s you Ms. Stark.” Vision smiled politely.

“Thanks Vision. How’s the compound been here without me?” You joked, taking a break from your work.

“I must admit it has been quieter. It’s not quite the same without the Captain and Natasha. Perhaps we need some ‘young blood’ as they say, like your friend Mr. Spider-“ Vision began but was cut off by F.R.I.D.A.Y. altering you of an incoming call from Happy. You quickly apologized to Vision before telling F.R.I.D.A.Y. to put him through.

“Y/N,” Happy sounded frantic, as per usual these days, “The kids looking for you.” Your eyes grew wide, you weren’t ready to face this yet.

“Happy, I’m upstate.” You stated.

“Upstate? You promised me Monday.” Happy spoke and it was as if you could hear his heart palpitating with stress.

“Everything’s packed, you can have it moved out whenever you want. Hap, I gotta go I’m in the lab.” You hoped he could move your stuff out early and cross one thing off his to-do list, not that it would have much of an effect on his stress levels.

“Well what do you want me to tell the kid, he won’t stop texting me.” _Shit_. If he had been texting Happy that probably means he’s been texting you, and that wasn’t something you wanted to deal with right now, but you knew that the longer you put it off the worse it would be.

“I’ll be back Monday Hap, I’m sure you can handle him for two days.” You snapped, ending the call. You rested your head in your hands with a sigh.

“It does not bode well to put off our problems Ms. Stark, especially when involving your heart, and the heart of another.” Vision spoke wisely, as if he understood the entire situation.

“Easier said than done Vis.” You muttered.

You spent the rest of the night tinkering in the lab. You had a suspicion that your father could have very easily finished his work on the housing unit, but instead saw it as an opportunity to both distract you and keep you busy.

When you finally decided to retire for the night with a nice hot bath, you had yet to check your phone for most of the day. You were dreading the inevitable, but as you tucked yourself in bed you knew you had to face it sometime. The bright screen illuminated your face as you read the notifications littering your lock screen.

**_Peter Parker 9:45_ **

_Hey, how’re you feeling this morning?_

**_Peter Parker 2:30_ **

_Stopped by the tower to check on you, you ok?_

**_Missed call from Peter Parker at 4:41_ **

**_Peter Parker 8:50_ **

_You’re kinda worrying me Y/N, are you ok?_

You felt bad for ignoring him all day, but even now all you felt was embarrassment at your actions the night before. You weren’t sure how he was going to react in the light of day. Details of your conversation were still blurry, but you sure remember that kiss, and him pushing you off of him. Sure he did so with good reason, and it was the gentlemanly thing to do. Why had you even decided to do that in the first place? You decided on a quick and simple reply before your thoughts began to spiral and throw you into another panic attack.

_Hey Peter, sorry I’ve been in the lab upstate all day. Don’t worry, I’m fine. I’ll be out of town til Monday._

Vague but better than ignoring. And only a little white lie. You decided to return to town tomorrow, Sunday afternoon, not Monday. You knew Happy would have moved your stuff into the apartment by then and you’d like to start unpacking.

As you attempted to fall asleep, you tried to keep your mind off of Peter, but that proved to be an impossible task.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next morning, you enjoyed a peaceful drive back into the city. When you arrived, the movers were still working on getting all the furniture inside and into place. Instead of sitting in the apartment and watching them work, you decided to take a stroll around Central Park to clear your head. You needed some alone time with your thoughts to work out everything. You still had details to put together for the Stark Internship and the execution of Linda’s plan to get the world to stop asking about Spider-Man. She basically wanted to turn you into some sort of social media influencer, and the idea disgusted you.

You spent the rest of the night thinking and relaxing, vowing in the morning to start working on the piles of boxes now littering your apartment.

And true to your word, that’s what you did.

As Monday afternoon rolled around, you had successfully unpacked and organized the contents of about 15% of your boxes. Not a small feat considering half of them were shoes; thank god for walk in closets.

You were busy unpacking boxes of books and alphabetizing them onto your book shelves in the living room when you heard a knock at the door. You furrowed your brows in confusion, not thinking anyone knew this address besides your father.

You opened the door, revealing the curly haired boy that had consumed your thoughts for three nights in a row now.

“Peter, what are you doing here?” You asked, a stack of books still in your hands, letting him into the apartment. Your heart sank, knowing what you were about to do.

“I just wanted to talk to you about some stuff.” Peter admitted, while you walked back to the bookshelf and resumed placing the books into their new home.

“Peter this isn’t a great time.” You tried to put this off, hoping maybe you could prolong this internal purgatory you were in.

“Y/N, about the party-“ Peter began, fidgeting with his hands nervously.

“Ok, guess we’re doing this,” You slammed the remaining books from your arms down onto the coffee table, whipping around to face him, “Listen, um, I shouldn’t have- I’m sorry. It was a mistake. I was drunk, I’m overwhelmed with all this moving stuff and-“

“It’s ok.” Peter nodded sweetly, but you could tell he was breaking inside.

“It’s not,” You didn’t even sound like yourself, like you were already playing the role of the woman your father and publicist so desperately wanted you to be, “My father was right, this can’t happen Peter. There’s too much risk involved.”

“What if it’s worth the risk?” Peter asked, almost begging you to listen. You removed your hands from your hips and began to wave them about as you ranted.

“People like us don't get to make that decision Peter, we don’t get to choose ourselves over the job we have to do, and the people that need to be protected.” Your voice raising in volume.

“Is this your dad talking, or you? You really don’t think you deserve to be happy?” Peter argued, knowing you didn’t sound like yourself. But his words hurt, because you knew he was right and there was nothing you could do, because you knew how dangerous it could be.

“I think you should go Peter.” You spoke, turning your back to him, you dropped your head into your hand. Peter thought you were angry with him, and had turned in an attempt to restrain yourself, so he tried once more. Last chance.

“Y/N. Look at me and tell me honestly that it was a mistake, and that you don’t care about me.” Peter spoke with more confidence than he had the whole conversation. You turned back to him after a minute and slowly dropped your hand and lifted your chin, your vision clouded with tears.

“Please don’t make this harder than it has to be.” Your voice shook as your tears ran free. Peters eyes grew wide, he hadn’t expected that.

And almost in a moment of clarity he realized, you did care about him, that much was obvious from your reaction, but he also realized this wasn’t your decision. And that meant that you didn’t have much power to change it. You were hurting, and he just wanted to sweep you up in his arms and make you forget all the pain, but he knew that would make things worse.

As he left with a nod and a mumbled apology he realized just how much of a fool he had been. A fool to think he, just some kid from Queens, had a chance with the brilliant billionaire he’d soon never be able to forget.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

You gave yourself an hour to cry and grieve the loss of someone who’s still alive, before making your way back out into the world.

Linda had her plans... and so did you. You knew there was one thing you needed if you really were going to sell this whole ‘perfect Stark girl’ media image and finally put to bed the Spider-Man rumors.

That’s how you found yourself, two hours later standing in front of a large oak door in a sundress. You knew the best way to forget about Peter, was to occupy your mind. You needed work, a distraction, and answers. Were your intentions pure? No, but then again neither were _his_... and you were getting impatient.

You knocked again, as the door was pulled open, revealing a face in utter shock.

“Y/N?” He asked, his eyes growing wider, if that was even possible.

“Thomas. We need to talk.” You spoke with so little emotion that it scared even you as you strutted past him and into the lavish townhome.


	11. Midnight Tryst

A bright stage light blinded you as you shifted back behind the curtain. A production assistant was clipping a microphone onto your dress that was so tight they’d actually made you wear spanx. Fucking spanx. You were a healthy 18 year old girl, wearing Spanx. You felt like you couldn’t breathe.

Your gaze shifted to the other side of the stage where you saw your publicist-turned-manager, Linda, give you a thumbs up and a cheery smile. You flashed her a toothy smile right back to reassure her. She had been preparing you for this all week, and you were ready. You were used to meetings with important people, investors, and shareholders; Pepper taught you well, you knew what you were doing.

“Ok people! Live in five... four...” A jaunty producer bellowed from behind the cameras.

You took a deep breath in, closing your eyes and reminding yourself why you were here. When you opened them, you put on your mask: a bright smile, wide eyes, and shoulders back. You were no longer the girl who just last week was crying in a conference room over a boy. No, for the next hour you were Y/N Stark: a girl who definitely had her shit together, sporting a nearly $5,000 Oscar de la Renta dress with some Jimmy Choos to match. 

The audience roared as the large red “Applause” sign above the stage lit up.

“Thank you! Thank you for joining us and welcome to all of you at home tuning into our live broadcast of The Tonight Show!” The spirited host greeted the audience, he spoke again once their cheers died down.

“Tonight we have a very special guest. She’s a partner of Stark Industries. She’s the daughter of Iron Man! Give it up for Y/N Stark!” His voice grew more and more excited with each description.

Was that really all you boiled down to? ‘The daughter of Iron Man’? Would you ever be able to be your own person? All your accomplishments, and still, the most interesting thing about you was your paternity. 

 

\- - - - -  🕷  \- - - - - 

 

Unbeknownst to you, thirty minutes away in Queens, May Parker was flipping channels as her nephew ate dinner. Landing on channel 6, she recognized a familiar face.

“Peter, isn’t that your little friend?” She asked excitedly, pointing to the TV. He lazily draws his attention to the screen before he did a double take.  _ Oh God, she looked amazing.  _ He thought.

“We’re not really friends May, she’s just my boss’ daughter.” Peter spoke, hoping she’d change the subject, or the channel.

“Wow, look at that dress! She looks like a million bucks!” May smiled, in awe.

“Try a billion.” Peter muttered, thankful that May didn’t have super-hearing like him. Normally at this time, he’d be getting ready to go out for patrols, but he was curious. Why were you on live TV? You didn’t do interviews. So tonight, he decided to take his place next to May and watch, because honestly - he missed you. If this was his chance so see your smile and hear your laugh, then patrols could wait an hour. 

 

\- - - - -  🕷  \- - - - - 

 

“Thank you for having me.” You nodded politely as you adjusted in your chair.

“Well it’s not everyday I have superhero DNA seated across from me.” The host joked, and you laughed politely, mentally regretting this already.

“What can I say? It’s in my blood.” You shrugged, the audience roared as the neon sign flashed. Your interviewer joining in, though you could tell it was fake.

“Yikes that was bad wasn’t it, guess I’ll leave the jokes to you.” You declared with a smile. 

“I guess out of all those PhDs you have, none of them translate to being able to come up with a decent punchline.” He retorted, playfully.

“Oh certainly not, probably the opposite considering they’re in Electrical Engineering and Ethical Philosophy.” You laughed.

“Which is incredible by the way! You’re 18 and you have two PhDs. How’d you do it?”  _ What an original question.  _ You thought and mentally rolled your eyes.

“A lot of hard work and dedication. And, sure, I’m not oblivious to the tremendous amount of privilege that I have. Sometimes it’s about the right opportunities, and those aren’t always fair. I’m hoping one day to change that.” You spoke honestly, gaining a round of applause from the audience.

“And how do you plan on doing that?” He asked, baiting you. He knew why you were here and what he was supposed to steer the conversation towards.

“Well, systematic change doesn’t happen overnight. But as a start, we want to be able to give young people interested in science, technology and engineering a foot in the door. We’re opening up a Stark Internship program, for kids across the country to come work with us and learn from us. Anyone is welcome to apply. There are more details on our website.” You looked directly into Camera One. You felt as if you were reading from a script, you’ve practiced this so much.

 

\- - - - -  🕷  \- - - - - 

 

“Peter, isn’t that what you do?” May asked, turning to her nephew.

“Kinda, Mr. Stark said they were expanding nationwide, wanna help out more people ya know.” He lied, in reality he had no clue what you were doing. A heads up would have been nice, but it was helpful that his alibi was now legitimized. 

“I like her.” May said with a soft smile, focusing back on the screen.

“What?” Peter asked, taken aback.

“I like her,” May repeated, “She recognizes her privilege and she’s giving back. Plus her shoes are to die for.”

 

\- - - - -  🕷  \- - - - - 

 

“That’s amazing. Does that include scholarship opportunities?” Your host inquired, just as planned.

“Of course! We already offer a few scholarships, there’s even one named after Dad and I at MIT, but we will be expanding greatly. One hundred of the applicants will receive a $50,000 scholarship, so there’s certainly no reason not to apply.” You laughed.

“You’re going to be a busy girl, doing all those interviews.” He remarked. You hated the way he called you  _ girl _ . You faked a laugh before responding.

“Oh, I know, but I think it’s important for me to really have an intimate role in the selection, you want to build those personal connections. Ya know?” You nodded.

“Those are important, sure. Now, Y/N, it’s no secret that you’ve also been running Stark Industries’ Philanthropy, so what’s next on the agenda for you personally?” He asked, turning the conversation... this wasn’t planned. 

“Um, sure we have a lot of fingers in a lot of pies here at Stark Industries, so we’re constantly making pretty large donations to a number of deserving causes. If you’re referring to large scale philanthropic galas then the NYC Hope Gala is coming up, which targets childhood cancer research and awareness. And of course, The Met Gala is coming up next month.” You nodded. What was he playing at here?

“And can we expect you to attend?” Something about his demeanor was changing, and you cursed yourself for agreeing to do this on live TV.

“Haven’t missed it in four years so there’s a good chance.” You assured him with a smile.

“Are you nervous to attend a public event considering what that took place at the last one?” You felt like you had just been punched in the gut, and you hoped that didn’t translate onto your face. He really was going  _ there _ , and you had a feeling you knew where this was heading. 

“I believe that when you live in fear, the people that orchestrated these terrible things win. So I’m not going to let that happen.” Your mind was reeling trying to figure out his next move, and what your response would be. Should you keep talking to fill the time until commercial break, in an attempt to limit whatever might be coming next? You looked at the monitor, 5 minutes until commercial,  _ shit _ . A lot can happen in 5 minutes.

“When footage of the attack came out, I think it’s fair to say that the world was shocked.” There were random voices of agreement coming from the audience. 

“About?” You asked, surely he wasn’t bringing this up. Your heart began to beat faster.

“I don’t think anyone expected you to stand up and fight the way you did, what prompted you to do that.”  _ Ok this is your chance, stall. _ You thought. 

“I- I suppose it was a spur of the moment, fight or flight sort of thing. In times of panic everyone reacts differently. I have basic self defense and martial arts training and some Stark tech, that’s about it. No crazy powers or anything. Someone once told me that if you have the ability to stop the bad things from happening, and you don’t, then they happen because of you. I knew that I could do something, so I did.” You spoke slowly, hoping to come off as sincere and thoughtful, though you were really just killing time.

“And paid the price.”

“I didn’t say it was easy. But some broken ribs are a small price to pay for saving some lives.” You tried to convince him.

“And how has it affected your relationship with the Mayor’s son, the reason you were at the gala that night?”  _ Shit _ .

“I think it’s normal that trauma and stress can put a strain on a relationship, but if you’re both willing to communicate and work through it then there’s no reason it should have a negative affect.” You were immediately reminded of your interaction with Thomas last week.

 

\- - - - -  🕷  \- - - - - 

 

_ “Let's be honest, you were using me the  _ entire _ time.” You said calmly, shouldn’t you be angry? _

_ “Well not the  _ entire _ time.” He answered with a smirk, dropping it when he noticed you were not amused. _

_ “Thomas.” You spoke seriously, with a brow raised. _

_ “Ok fine, like 95% of the time,” He admitted, dropping his playful tone once more, “Why are you here Y/N?” _

_ “Because it's my turn to use you.” You stated simply, mimicking his smirk. _

_ “What?” His eyes grew wide. _

_ “The public needs to keep thinking were the perfect happy couple.” You explained. _

_ “Why?” He asked, shaking his head. _

_ “I have my reasons and you have yours.” You answered cryptically. _

_ You weren’t surprised when he agreed, his father’s poll numbers had been dropping significantly. He wanted to get back in his father’s good graces. You were going to use this opportunity to look into the family, and the possible weapons dealings Danny Rand had warned you about.  _ Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer _ , they say.  _

_ Plus, it gave you a good alibi to move the attention off of Peter, well, Spider-Man.  _

 

\- - - - -  🕷  \- - - - - 

 

“So you’re still together, despite the rumors that you’ve split?” Your interviewer pried. 

“We are still together, and doing quite well, though I appreciate your concern.” Your reply was confident, and just cocky enough to get a laugh from the audience. 

“How did he react to the rumors about a midnight tryst between you and Spider-Man?” He was enjoying this, and to top it all off, blasted that damn photograph on the screen, just in case the world had forgotten. 

 

\- - - - -  🕷  \- - - - - 

 

Peter choked on his water, causing May to worryingly ask him if he’s alright. He attempts to reassure her, and silence her to hear your response. 

You laughed before answering. 

“Well I’d hardly consider it a midnight tryst, considering this picture was taken at 7:30. Plus Thomas was over at the time so it would be pretty hard for him to believe there was any ‘trysting’ going on.” You lied. Peter listened more intently as the interview was slowly devolving into an interrogation. 

“So are you denying that you know Spider-Man?” The interviewer pressed, his tone near threatening.

“I’ve met the guy once,” Peter saw you shrug, “He saved my life, I thanked him. I’d hardly consider that knowing someone.”

It was in that moment Peter realized why you were doing all of this. You were trying to protect him, to shift the story. You wanted to get the attention off of him, and by doing that, shifted it all onto you. You were taking the fall, and once this blows over you can’t turn back. You were going to have to keep this up, this media persona. That meant more TV appearances, more interviews, more parties and galas. Becoming the exact person you didn’t want to be. Putting aside your work and research, for him.

 

\- - - - -  🕷  \- - - - - 

 

“When we come back Y/N Stark is going to answer your questions you sent in on Twitter!” He pointed his note cards to the camera with a smile.

The curtain closed as you cut to commercial break. Your smile dropped and your mask melted away.

Your publicist Linda ran on stage yelling at the host.

“What the hell was that? We told you the attack was off limits!” She scolded him, you almost thought she’d threaten to sue. You’d never seen her this worked up before.

“It’s what people care about, it’s what they want to know! No one cares about how much money you donate to some kids.” He argued, you shook your head at how heartless he was. 

You stormed over to the side of the stage, you could hear Linda’s heels behind you.

“Y/N-“ She spoke once she caught up to you, you whipped around to face her.

“This is why I didn’t want to do this bullshit! I’m out here getting interrogated! What’s he gonna ask about next, huh? The incident? The fucking Accords? Jesus!” You ranted, flailing your arms about.

”Back in 10.” A stagehand informed the two of you.

“Listen, I didn’t know he was going to do that ok. But now, you’re going to get your butt back in the chair and answer their silly questions from Twitter and you’re done, ok?” She pushed you back onto the stage, you quickly took your seat as the curtain separating you and the audience was pulled open and you were back live. 

 

\- - - - -  🕷  \- - - - - 

 

After a painful 15 minutes of mind numbing questions like “Who’s your favorite Avenger?” and “F Marry Kill- Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man”(which you had declined to answer, that was your dad for Christ sake), you were finally making your way back to the car. Linda was giving you instructions in preparations for your day tomorrow.

“Ok, we’ve got the Vogue interview tomorrow morning, then Elle in the afternoon so I’ll send hair and makeup over around 5:45AM, you’ll have to be up and ready. Oh, but don’t eat anything you’ll want to look nice in your dress tomorrow.” You gave Linda a side eye and eye roll when her last words came out of her mouth. You were certainly not starving yourself. If you wanted to eat, you were going to eat, and God have mercy on anyone who got in your way. 

Once you returned to the quiet emptiness of your apartment, you immediately slipped out of your dress and into yoga pants and a sports bra.

You began wrapping your knuckles, and attacking the punching bag - a little coping mechanism Cap had taught you. You were furious about how the interview went. 

You had doubts that people would ever stop asking about Peter, and if any of this was worth it. 

Little did you know, the friendly neighborhood Spiderling was sitting on your roof, after peering in through the window and seeing your assault on the bag.

He was curious about how you were doing. You had looked so happy and put together- but was that just a brave face and a dress? He realized now it was just a mask. 

When he glanced once more, he found you in the kitchen, unwrapping your bleeding knuckles and downing a shot... and then another. You looked miserable, and exhausted.

He wanted to talk to you, but he didn’t want to make things worse. He was about to leave when he noticed you pulled out your phone and open the call app. 

Your finger hovered over his name and he raised an eyebrow. You had an internal struggle over whether or not to call him, instead you set the phone down and groaned, sliding it across the counter.

“F.R.I. can you set an alarm for 5AM?” You asked, though you wished you didn’t have to.

“Sure can boss.” F.R.I.D.A.Y. replied. 

You slipped a robe over your athletic wear and headed onto your balcony. You leaned on the edge, and looked out onto the moonlit park with a sigh. Dropping your head to your hands once more, and gently rubbing your temples. 

Leaning back up onto your elbows, you took in a deep breath.

“I know you’re there Peter.” You spoke softly, turning your head slightly but keeping your body facing out over the ledge. 

And your next action surprised both of you:  _ you invited him in. _

  
  



	12. Nightcap Protocol

“F.R.I, activate Nightcap Protocol.” You instructed the AI with your arms crossed as you made your way to the couch.

Your windows glazed over, so no one could see in. Some privacy and security shields, if you will, to prevent the past from repeating itself. Like your true self, you were invisible to the outside world. Inside you didn’t have to hide or pretend; you were safe.

“You need to ice those...” Peter spoke, breaking the silence.

“What?” You asked gently, scrunching your brows together.

“Your knuckles, you need to ice them. They’re bleeding and they’re going to swell if you don’t ice them...“ Peter navigates through the new kitchen, wrapping some ice in a cloth before approaching you. He gently lays the makeshift ice pack onto them.

You look up to him with guilty eyes when you realize he’s still holding onto your hands. 

“I don’t know what to say Peter, I thought I’d figure it out on the walk from the balcony to here, but I still don’t know what to say.” You hung your head again, your voice faltering. 

“You don’t have to say anything.” Peter reassured you, taking a seat next to you.

You didn’t understand why he was being so kind to you, especially considering your last conversation with him. Your head had pushed him away, but your heart was grasping for anything left to hold onto. 

“You deserve an explanation.” You admitted.

“I know why you did it, all of it. You don’t have to put yourself through this for me.” Peter tried to convince you, but you shook your head. 

How could he be so understanding? How could you hurt him, and he still looks for a reason to redeem you? To excuse your actions? To find some greater meaning to all of it... the only conclusion you could think of was that he really didn’t want to let you go. 

“I do Peter! Because if you get hurt or your identity is compromised, that’s on me!” You yelled, pushing the ice off your hands as you motioned between the two of you.

“Can’t you see? I never had a normal childhood and I can’t change that. But you still have that luxury. When you’re not swinging around Queens in a multi-million dollar suit, you can be normal. You can go out with friends, you can see a movie. Whatever normal people do; you can do that. Just because I’ll never get that chance doesn’t mean I’m gonna sit by and watch while it’s stolen from you.” You tried to explain.

“What if I don’t want to be normal?” Peter asked, but that wasn’t exactly what he meant. 

What he wanted to say was how he would never truly be normal again after you. You had accepted him into your crazy life, and ruined him for the ‘normal world’. It was as if he’d experienced a touch of the heavens when he was with you, and he knew if he went back nothing could ever compare to the way you had made him feel.

“Trust me, you don’t want this.” You scoffed, motioning around you, implying the shit storm that has now become your life.

 You were like a bad omen. Chaos followed behind you everywhere you went, and you were worried that you were going to be the reason someone got hurt. Seriously hurt.    
And you were not going to let that person be Peter Benjamin Parker.

“Keep that ice on, Y/N.” Peter said calmly. 

“Fuck my knuckles, Peter!” You shouted, standing up off the couch.

“No! Alright because you are so worried about everyone around you that you won’t even take care of yourself!” Peter yelled back, standing to match you. His words shocked you, because deep down you knew he was right.

“This is bigger than me, Peter! This is bigger than both of us!” You raised your voice again.

“What are you talking about?” Peter shook his head in confusion, his tone was still argumentative. You realized you had dug yourself into a hole, and he wouldn’t rest, understandably, until he had answers. 

You took a deep breath and a pause, sitting back down onto the arm of your couch. 

“I was warned before the gala.” You confessed.

“What? Why didn’t you say anything?” Peter asked worriedly, moving to stand in front of you.

“I was still trying to figure it out. The mayor, he’s in deep. Some sort of illegal weapons dealings. I don’t know. But I know that the people he’s tangled up with aren’t afraid of collateral damage. What if they come for you, because of me? More people are going to get hurt if I don’t get to the bottom of this.” You tried to make him understand.

“What if it’s not your job to stop them?” 

“What if I’m the only one who can? I can figure out what they’re doing from the inside.” You spoke, though you weren’t sure how convincing you sounded.

“From the inside? Oh, Thomas.” Peter took a step back and looked away from you.

“Yeah, Thomas.”

“So y’all are...?” Peter began to ask, but couldn’t bring himself to put it into words. 

“No, no. It’s just- we have this agreement. Some outings for publicity, that kinda stuff. He gets to impress his dad and boost his poll numbers, and we move the public attention away from you... well that was my intention at least.” You explained, shaking your head at how tonight had gone.

“Yeah I saw the interview, it was-” Peter stopped, not knowing what word to best describe what he had witnessed.

“Brutal?” You offered. 

“Yeah, something like that.” Peter gave you a sad smile, something to show you that he was sorry for the way it turned out. To a blind viewer, it really wasn’t that bad. Sure the questions were grilling, but you didn’t throw yourself under the bus or anything. You behaved and answered just as you were supposed to. 

“I don’t know what was worse, the questions about you or the questions from Twitter.” You sighed, sliding off the edge of the couch into the plush cushions below.

“I liked the question about Thor, did he really say that?” Peter laughed, moving next to you once more. He was trying to get your mind off of what had happened. 

“Clint convinced him that once a girl turns 15, and when they address you, it’s polite to reply with ‘Yas Queen’.” You laughed, a genuine laugh. It had been a while since you’d done that. 

“So on my birthday, we had this huge party upstate. It was before Sokovia and everyone was still living in the compound. I came downstairs and Thor was the first one I ran into. I asked him if my dress looked okay, and you can imagine my shock when he replied. Everyone burst out laughing, Clint was in tears. I didn’t have the heart to tell him, he looked so pleased with himself.” 

You smiled as you told Peter the story, lost in the memory. It was a simpler time, a more peaceful time. There was no fighting, no government intervention. What you would give to go back to those days. 

“I still can’t believe you’re friends with all the Avengers.” Peter shook his head with a smile. 

“Is that why you came here tonight, to talk to me about Thor?” You teased him with a raised brow, but you really were curious.

“Well no, I just... I saw you and you looked- wow I mean,  _ wow _ . Then the questions and the, I mean you answered them perfectly but I could tell you were... I mean-” Peter began to shift around nervously in his seat. It was like when you two first met, he was shy and nervous. Not the Peter you’d grown to know- you knew that meant something was up. 

“Spit it out bug boy.” You furrowed your brow, unsure of where he was going with this.

“Fuck, Y/N I missed you. Ok. You’re not making it easy for me to move on when you’re on my TV looking like  _ that _ . I had to see you. I knew those questions affected you so I wanted to see if you were okay.” He confessed. You hoped your cheeks weren’t bright red right now. You didn’t think you’ve ever heard Peter curse, and he’d never talked about you in that way before. 

“Alright, you’ve seen me. What was the next step in your plan tonight?” You inches closer to him, your heartbeat growing faster and faster. Hopefully he couldn’t hear it with his super senses. 

“Hope you’d let me in.” He said slowly. His eyes were scanning over your face, like he was making a mental image to never forget this. 

“Well I seem to have already done that, and next?” You spoke just as slowly, trying to calm your breathing... Were you nervous? You’ve certainly done this before, but why did this time feel different?

“This.” Peter spoke with some newfound confidence before his lips collided with yours. 

You snaked your hand around the back of his neck, wanting to eliminate any distance between the two of you. 

You knew why it was different this time- it was Peter. Things would always be different because of Peter. It was as if you had lived your whole life colorblind, and then you met him. He was the color, he was the life you were missing. You didn’t know much about destiny and fate and all that, but when you kissed Peter and he kissed you back, you saw it.

You saw the two of you together, growing old together, white picket fence and all. You saw a glimpse of a normal life, a happy life. He was your balance, the missing puzzle piece. 

But deep down you knew, it could never be this easy, you couldn’t get to that point without struggles and heartbreak. But you also knew Peter was worth it, and whatever hardships you would have to overcome, you would do it. 

You came from two different worlds, and the two wouldn’t meld together easily or quickly. It would take time for people to come around to the idea of it, but time was something you had plenty of. 

Tonight would give you a chance, a chance at a proper goodbye. Not a real goodbye, but a goodbye for now. A goodbye to figure out all the crazy twists and turns that was your life. You both knew the timing just wasn’t right, but one day down the road everything may fall into place. 

“Is this a good idea?” Peter pulls away hesitantly and asked.

“No.” You smiled and shook your head. 

This time it was you that erased the empty space between your lips. You lifted your leg over Peter so that you were now straddling him. His hands found their way to your hips as yours trailed over his chest. 

Time didn’t exist when your lips were intertwined. An hour could have passed, or a year. It was like you were stuck in an interdimensional time loop, and neither of you wanted it to stop. 

When you finally came up for air, you froze for a second. You looked into Peter’s eyes, you memorised every detail of his face. Knowing it might be a while before the two of you can be together again like this, you didn’t want to take a second for granted.

Peter smiled up at you, and for the first time in forever, you felt seen. Truly seen. Not the tabloid version of you, not the majority shareholder business version of you, but the real you. Peter saw it, all of your flaws, and they didn’t matter. It was just the two of you, together in the eye of the storm.

“I have to be up in 5 hours, can Queens spare you for a night?” You raised your brow and smirked. 

“They’ll just have to manage” Peter smirked as he lifted you from the couch and headed towards your bedroom. You were both laughing and utterly giddy. Two fools in love. 

He gently threw you onto the bed before crawling over to you. You were smiling as his lips connected with his once more. In an attempt to draw him closer to you, your hand brushed over the spider on the front of his suit- releasing it.

You froze and muttered an apology, growing more and more distracted by the bare skin that was now exposed. 

“Cat got your tongue?” Peter asked with a smirk, you must have been staring for a while.

“Hmm? No, uh, shit.” You muttered.

Peter Parker was like a drug, and oh boy were you an addict. You’d been doing well, 10 days sober. But you broke. Cracked at the first opportunity and let him back into your heart, and your apartment for that matter. But it was just one little cheat, right? That’s all. No one even had to know. 

“Um, I’d offer you a change of clothes but I don’t have any of Steve’s laying around.” You tried to recover from your daze. 

“We’ll have to figure something else out then, won’t we.” Peter spoke, connecting your lips again, and pulling the suit further down his chest.

“I suppose we will...” Your hand found some pooling fabric and aided in it’s removal, he was now just in his boxers.

“And if we’re playing fair.” You breathed heavily, trying to catch your breath after the lack of oxygen.

You untied that robe that you had wrapped around you, and threw the material onto the floor. You were on the edge of the bed, and quickly took the opportunity to stand back on the floor, pulling the tight fabric of your leggings from your body and sliding it down your thighs. As you stepped out of them, and stood tall with your shoulders back, your eyes connected with Peter’s. His grew wide, not with surprise, but desire. Standing before him in only a sports bra and your underwear, you didn’t feel exposed. You felt safe.

Peter now sat at the edge of the bed with his feet hanging off, hitting the floor. You moved to that you were standing between his legs. Your hand came to rest on the side of his face, wrapping around to the back of his neck. You placed a delicate kiss onto his lips, and it grew, blossomed into a passionate kind of kiss that you think only happens in the movies. 

As Peter wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you back onto the bed, lips never separating, he let out a noise between a growl and a moan.

You were seeing a side of Peter you never thought you would get to see, or never thought existed for that matter.

You two were inseparable. Even once the kiss was broken, you still couldn’t keep your hands off of eachother.

You now were snuggled into his side, silently tracing shapes over his chest, dragging your fingers over his muscles. He had his arms protectively wrapped around you, listening to the steady beat of your heart. 

You were the first one to break the silence with something that had been weighing heavily on your mind for the last week.

“I'm sorry for how I acted at the party. I shouldn’t have drank that much, I hope I didn’t do anything to embarrass you.” You apologized.

“Embarrass me?” Peter pulled away slightly so that he could see your face. ”No, no Y/N I was the talk of the town all week. Flash hasn’t stopped talking about you. By the way, you’re a really cute drunk.”

“Oh, well I don’t know about that.” You smiled up at him.

“You shot finger guns at Ned.” He informed you and your eyes grew wide. 

“No I didn’t oh my god.” You buried your head into his chest in embarrassment. 

“Yes you did.” Peter laughed and you groaned.

When you unburied your head from his chest, and laid down onto his arm he asked you another question.

“Why do you have to be up so early tomorrow.” He asked, and if he hadn’t, you almost would have forgotten. Peter had a way of distracting you, and tonight surely more than ever.

“I have an interview with Vogue in the morning, well more of a meeting really, then an Elle video.” You informed him.

“What for?” He asked again.

“They want me on the cover of Vogue, lord knows why. And Elle is doing a closet and apartment tour for YouTube.” You rolled your eyes. You might not have known why Vogue would want you for their cover, but he sure did. You were gorgeous and brilliant, and he wished you could see what he saw.

“A closet tour, really? People care about that kind of thing?” He replied instead, noticing your eyeroll and general disapproval of the whole thing.

“So I’m told. I do have a vast shoe collection though.” You answered, looking towards your closet, that really could be classified as another whole room.

“I’m sure you do,” Peter laughed, “Aunt May said your shoes tonight were to die for.”

“Did she now? What size is she?” You asked.

“Um, I think an eight.” You made a mental note of that.

“Mh,” you groaned and burrowed back into Peter’s open arms, “I don’t want to wake up in 4 hours.”

“Then don’t.” Then don’t Peter chucked at your previous actions.

“I have to.” You groaned, your voice muffled due to your face being pressed against his body.

“Then sleep.” Peter suggested, teasing you.

“I don’t want to.” You whined.

“Well what else are you going to do for the next 4 hours then?” Peter retorted with a smile. You raised your head up again, resting it on his chest so your faces were mere inches apart. You looked up at him through your lashes before your lips curved into a smirk.

“I’m sure I can think of something.” You smiled, your lips finding their home, once more, attached to his. 

  
  



	13. That's Dr. Stark To You

Your breath caught in your throat as you jolted upright with a gasp. Your eyes scanned the room as realized you were awake and it was just a dream. A nightmare. Inhaling a few deep breaths, you attempted to control your breathing. Dropping your head into your hands and rubbing your eyes, as if to try and erase the images you saw. 

You felt the bed shift beside you, and a quiet sweet voice rang through the silence.

“Y/N,” Two gentle hands found your body, wrapping comfortingly around you, “Are you ok?”

You simply nodded in response. You hadn’t looked at him yet. You were terrified that if you did you would just see flashes of what had woken you up only moments ago. It looked so real, it felt so real. But it wasn’t true, Peter was here, he was ok.

“Nightmare?” He asked quietly. A nod was all you could muster. “Do you want to talk about it?”

You raised your head finally, your eyes finding his in the dark. Reaching a hand out to cup his face and stroke his cheek, a sad smile donned your face that was meant to reassure Peter. 

“Not really.” You whispered back with a shake of your head. 

“That’s ok. Come here.” He beckoned you back into his arms.

You laid in silence with your head on his chest, listening to the smooth, melodic beating of his heart. Something was weighing heavily on your mind, Peter knew that much.

You propped your head up against his chest so that your eyes met.

“It’s just so unfair, for the universe to bring into my life the perfect guy at the most imperfect time.” You spoke suddenly.

“Maybe life’s not so cut and dry like that. Maybe there will never be a perfect time. Maybe we just have to make due with the time that we’re given.” Peter suggested.

You didn’t answer, you were lost in your own mind. Replaying the events of the last few weeks.

“What are you thinking about?” Peter asked, moving his fingers into your hair, finding your weakness.

“How none of this would have happened if it weren’t for that article.” You spoke with a guilty tone.

“You can’t know that, and now we can’t change that.” Peter tried to comfort you, since when did he get so mature?

“But I don’t want to-“ Your voice broke as tears began to well up in your eyes.

“Don’t want to what?” Peter asked, scanning your face in concern. 

“Say goodbye to you. I just want to stay right here in this bed like this forever.” A stray tear slipped through the barricade and slid down your face. 

“But you can’t. You can’t stop living just because of one slip up.” Peter tried to reassure you, swiping his thumb across your cheek to catch the tear.

“I just want to be with you, I wish it could just be as simple as that.” More tears began to spill now.

“Our lives will never be simple. I shoot webs and fight bad guys. You make technology that literally kills aliens. This isn’t simple, but it also doesn’t have to be. We can be perfectly complicated.” Peter smiled, trying to cheer you up, trying to give you hope.

“What if perfectly complicated means we have to wait for this press frenzy to blow over before we can be perfectly complicated together again?” You asked with a frown.

“If you think that’s what’s best, you know I’d wait however long for you.” Peter smiled a sweet, naive, hopeful smile. You sighed in response.

“That’s what I’m worried about! I don’t want you to press pause on your life for me. And what if it happens again? One picture, that’s all it takes, and we have to start this all over again.” You argued.

“So what do you want?” He asked quietly, pushing himself up slightly.

“It’s not what I want, but maybe what we need.” You answered quietly.

“And what’s that?” Peter asked, his tone and demeanor changed, as if he was preparing himself for your answer. As if he’d lost hope that this would go in his favor.

“Maybe we need time. Like a month or so, long enough for this to blow over. A month where we both get to live our separate lives. And at the end if we decide that it’s something worth fighting for— we give it a shot. Press or no press.” You suggested.

“I assume we wouldn’t be able to see each other during this month.” Peter asked, disappointed but understanding. 

“Not unless absolutely necessary. Like emergencies or something.” You shook your head.

“And business? About the suit or something?” He asked once more.

“Happy’s still your point guy, you should probably just go through him.” You replied. 

Peter sat quiet for a minute. Each growing second of silence made you more and more nervous waiting for his reply. 

“Alright.” He nodded, and you smiled. He was giving this a chance, you were both giving this a chance, a fair fight, “Now would you get up here so I can kiss you? If this is my last night with you we’ve got to make it one to remember.” Your cheeks flushed at his forward ness.

“Bold of you to assume I could ever forget you Peter Parker.” You smiled sweetly, before your lips reunited.

 

\- - - - -  🕷  \- - - - -

 

At 5 am F.R.I.D.A.Y. raised the electronic sunshades in your bedroom, letting in the early morning glow. You groaned as her voice filled the room, informing you of the time.

“It should be a crime to wake up this early.” Peter whined in a groggy voice.

“I agree,” You mumbled as you nuzzled into him, your head on his chest, tracing shapes with your anxious fingers. An unspoken heaviness hung around the room. You were both trying to make these last few moments last. One of you have to break the growing silence.

“I wish it didn’t have to be this way, trust me.” You looked up into his eyes.

“But it does.” He replied in understanding and you nodded.

You kissed him once more, like a prisoner on death row indulging in their last meal.

“Your guests will be arriving shortly Ms. Stark,” F.R.I.D.A.Y reminded you.

The two of you quickly and quietly got ready before walking Peter to the door.

“You’re really something Ms. Stark.” He smiled, standing in your doorway. You both agreed that it would be a good idea if he left through the lobby as Peter Parker, not as Spider-Man through a window. 

“That’s Dr. Stark to you.” You smirked, cherishing what might be your last few tastes of witty banter with him. 

“Oh my apologies doctor.” He mirrored your smirk and turned to leave.

“Hey Peter, “ You grabbed his wrist and pulled him back, wrapping your arms around him, “I really am sorry. I wish things were different.” 

Peter tilted your chin up to him and kissed you one last time.

With an optimistic smile, he said, “Who knows, maybe one day they will be.”

 

\- - - - -  🕷  \- - - - -

You welcomed Linda into your apartment not too long after. The first thing she did was squint and examine you, and you just knew a comment was coming.

“You look tired.” She raised a brow, the nerve of this woman.

“It’s 5:30 in the morning.” You retorted.

“Hm.” She scanned you up and down once more, “Well hair and makeup are on their way up, nothing some concealer and a hairbrush can’t fix.”

You sat in silence for the next hour, nearly nodding off every five minutes while your hair was pulled and your face covered.

Once the magic had been done Linda fiddled with your hair to make sure it was just the way she wanted it. A knock on your door pulled her from her trance, and the look on her face shifted: showtime.

As she pulled the door open with a smile that was far too bright for 6:30 am, you recognized the infamous Executive Editor immediately. You were surprised to see him, considering this wasn’t the site of a swanky new club opening or new age gallery party.

“Taylor Antrim, Vogue. It’s a pleasure to meet you Ms. Stark,” He spoke with a smirk as he stuck out his hand for you to shake. He exuded confidence, and you didn’t know whether to be intimidated or impressed.

“Y/N, please.” You smiled, taking his hand in yours. Two could play this game, you smirked back mirroring his cocky demeanor. 

“Just wait until you hear his idea, it’s amazing!” Linda raved as we all took our place in your perfectly staged living room. She already knew? Of course she already knew, you thought, it was probably her idea in the first place.

“We want you to wear the dress.” The Editor spoke with an excited smile.

“The dress?” You asked carefully, fearing you already knew the answer.

“Your gala dress.” He answered, as if it was obvious. Your eyes grew wide. They took your silence as an opportunity to try and sell you on it, “As a show of strength, you’re fighting back. You’re rising above. A phoenix from the ashes. Regaining power over your trauma and not letting it rule your life. Just like you said- not letting them win.”

“But-” You tried but were cut off.

“It’s shocking, it’s new, it’s perfect.” Taylor spoke with expressive hand gestures.

“It’s torn and bloody.” You shot back, “Don’t you think that will be a little too... gory?”

“No no no. Picture it- Your hair and makeup is going to be fierce, edgy. You’ve got the dress, with the ripped slit up the thigh. It’s sexy, its powerful. Then pointed directly at the camera, you’ve got the Iron Man hand. You’re taking control; of your life, of your destiny, over the people who did this.” He laid it out for you, mimicking the movements and the pose.

You looked over to Linda and knew... you didn’t have a choice.

 

\- - - - -  🕷  \- - - - -

_ “Hey Youtube, today we’re here with Y/N Stark in her new stunning 5th Avenue apartment. Why don’t you start the tour.” Your interviewer motioned to you with a cheerful smile. Maybe this wouldn’t be too bad, you thought. _

_ “Right this way!” You welcoming them inside with a sultry smile, “So now, obviously, we’re in the living room. Over here we’ve got the kitchen. But we’ve got two options. Down this hallway, we've got a gym, an office, and a little lab where I’m working on a few new projects. Or we could go this way towards the bedroom, closet and terrace. Up to you.” _

_ “We hear your closet is to die for! Why don’t we start there?” She spoke, tugging the camera man in that direction. Typical. No one cares about the tech you develop in the lab. They care about how many shoes you have. _

_ “Let’s do it.” You laughed, doing your best to hide your annoyance and play your part. _

 

\- - - - -  🕷  \- - - - -

 

After a mind numbing few hours of getting footage of your entire apartment, you were finally free... somewhat. You had one of your planned outings with Thomas soon that you weren’t entirely dreading, though that’s mainly because who had a plan of your own. 

Phase one: Dinner at a fancy restaurant known to be a spot rife with paparazzi. 

Phase two: A stroll around 5th and into the park, arm in arm with some tipped off paparazzi following you around. 

Phase three: Thomas inevitably invites you back up to his place after. Here’s where you’d usually decline and make up an excuse, but you needed to fast track a few things and knew this was the perfect opportunity. So you surprise him, and accept.

As Thomas ushers you into his house with a hand on your lower back that drops once the door was shut, you knew this was the best time to act. While his back is turned locking the door, you slip a bug onto the side of the entry table so you can easily snatch it on your way out. That will work on hacking into the wifi and any accounts affiliated with the network. You estimate it will take about 25 minutes to collect all the data for you to comb through once you return home. Now you just have to wait.

Thomas turned back to you, suspecting nothing, and offered you a drink. You declined as the two of you entered into the main sitting room. He was about to speak and fill the silence when his phone rang.

“What channel?” He spoke into the phone, picking up the TV remote and switching it to whatever channel someone, probably a publicist, was telling him to. 

The volume began to blare as he adjusted it, and the sound of your name caused you to whip around and face the screen.

“Y/N Stark said herself that Thomas was over at the time of this Spider sighting. Is it possible that the answer is as simple as that? Thomas De Blasio is Spider-Man?” One reporter spoke, sounding very convinced at this frankly absurd conspiracy.

“They were both at the gala!” The co-host joined in, fueling the fire.

You stared at the screen in disbelief. As if things couldn’t get any worse, someone started a rumor that Thomas is Spider-Man. How could people even believe this? How could he possibly swing into the gala from the outside if he was already inside, cowering behind you might you add. But you also know that now a days, people don’t care about facts, they care about entertainment. 

Surely his father, the mayor, wouldn’t want to be associated with a vigilante, these rumors have to be put to bed. 

“Thomas, this isn’t good.” You turned back to him with a stern look.

“It would actually be kind of cool, all the attention I would get if I came out-” He tried to continue put you cut off his attention whore daydream.

“No. You have to deny this. Spider-Man is a...  vigilante. You can’t have that connected to you and your father's campaign. They’d put you in jail, they’d make you sign the Accords... I don’t know, but none of this is worth it when it’s not even true.” You started to ramble but had to catch yourself before you let on more than you’d like. 

“Uh fine, you’re right. But who’s to say they’d even believe me if I denied it.” He raised an eyebrow with a smirk, obviously loving this public attention right now.

“I’m not your publicist, I don’t know.” You shot back and turned back towards the screen to see if they’ve changed the subject yet.

“Whoever he is, you’re really trying to protect him, aren't you?” Thomas spoke, and your jaw dropped slightly. Maybe he wasn’t as dumb as you thought. 

“What are you talking about?” You whipped back to face him, speaking with an angry tone, attempting to deny his correct accusation.

“Spider-Man.” He stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world

“I don’t even know him.” You shook your head, and tried to make your tone sound as annoyed and convincing as possible.

“Sure you don’t. You can keep your secrets, whatever.” He rolled his eyes. Now you were really set off.

“I’m the one with secrets?!?” You yelled, motioning towards him with your finger,  “You’re the one who used me- for years! You told me you loved me. Was any of that real?”

“Ok fine. You want the truth?” He yelled back, but the more he spoke the less angry his tone got and the more genuine it sounded, “The truth is that it started as a set up, yes. But along the way... yeah I started to fall for you. You’re more than just a pretty face, you’re smart and good. I didn’t want to hurt you.”

You shook your head and rolled your eyes. Turning your back on him once more.

“You know I was really worried about you after the gala. I saw you get hit and I didn’t think you were going to get back up.” He approached you, laying a hand on your shoulder. 

“Well you were a big help cowering behind me while I stood up and fought.” You smacked his hand off as you turned around to retort.

“Well thank god Spider-Man showed up.” He spoke, not without insinuation.

“Why would someone even attack a campaign fundraiser?” You asked, looking for a shift in his eyes, to see if he knew something... but you saw nothing. You attempted to compose yourself, you couldn’t let your emotions get in the way and accidently expose your true motives here. 

“People are crazy, this is New York baby. Come on, let’s have a drink, stay a while.” He motioned towards the bar, clearly wanting to get off this subject.

You heard F.R.I.D.A.Y. speak into your earpiece, “data retrieval complete”. Perfect timing.

“Can’t, I’ve got a million applications to read for the Internship Program.” You spoke, not dropping your slightly annoyed tone as you made your way towards the door, slipping your bug into your pocket, and Thomas didn’t suspect a thing. That’s what happens when you’re taught sleight of hand by Natasha Romanov. 

As long as people continue to underestimate you, this was going to be a breeze. They’d never see you coming. 

  
  
  
  
  



End file.
